Classics

from Sandroydian Magazine 2021-2022

Academic Review

Lingua Latina

I write this just as CE results for this year’s leavers have been published. Most children leaving Sandroyd will still have one more year of compulsory Latin before they can choose it - or drop it! – for GCSE. A few will never again sit through another Latin lesson, and may well (I fear) be heaving a sigh of relief; it will be many years before they perhaps look back and see the benefit of what they have learnt - forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit, in the immortal words of the poet Virgil. And while that line is certainly beyond prep school Latin to decipher, their prep school Latin will supply a clear understanding of the word ‘immortal’, meaning ‘undying’ or ‘deathless’, from mors, mortis f - death. However, revenons à nos moutons… to the decidedly unsheeplike Year 8 leavers, who have weathered the whole Covid storm, and still come out with some excellent results at CE. This year’s three academic scholars have been particularly rewarding to teach; Freddie, Will and Xander have been unflagging in their enthusiasm for the higher complexities of Latin grammar and syntax, and will fly the flag for Sandroyd Classics at their senior schools.

In October Annelise Gray, author of Circus Maximus – Race to the Death, came to Sandroyd to talk to all from Year 5 upwards about chariot racing and how she went about writing her novel. This was an inspiring talk and Sandroyd was for a while strewn with copies of the novel. We look forward to the sequel!

Year 7 Iliad

Year 7 Latin lessons this year were based on the wrath of Achilles, and 7FD entertained the whole school with their 5 minute Iliad, performed with gusto in Latin during a performance showcase session.

Year 6 Latin Trip

In the summer term the whole of Year 6 travelled back in time to experience life under Roman occupation at New Barn Field Centre near Dorchester; they weighed up Roman armour and weapons, drilled as Roman soldiers, and tried their hand at making the ancestor of Savlon and Germolene from plantain leaves, which we tread underfoot everyday without realising!

As the Salisbury Classical Association’s Classical Speaking Competition once more failed to get off the ground this year (lingering tentacles of Covid) we indulged in a bit of fun after the summer exams, with all Year 6 and Year 7 performing well-known children’s stories in Latin to the rest of the year group, and to staff judges; tres porcelli parvuli (Three Little Pigs) squealing ‘auxilium!’ running away from lupus magnus et malus, little bear crying ‘quis polentam meam consumpsit??’ in Auricoma (Goldilocks), and Palla Rubra (Little Red Riding Hood) wondering ‘quam magnos oculos/aures/ dentes habes, avia!’

But learning Latin is still a serious business, and I make no apology for the frequent chanting of noun and verb patterns that can be heard from the Latin classroom; rote learning is an important element of learning any language and if children do not decline regularly, you can be sure their Latin will! Quizlet continues to sweeten the pill of vocabulary learning, and victory in Quizlet is all the more enticing for the accompanying jelly bean or alpha!

Ελληνικα (GREEK)

And for those children who have been bitten by the bug of Classical languages, Thursday evening has seen a few stalwarts coming weekly, and slowly but surely taking their first steps in Ancient Greek. In a few years they may well be tackling Homer in the original!