Latin
Latin is compulsory in Year 8, after which it becomes an option for Year 9 and GCSE. The subject provides pupils with an understanding of a grammar and vocabulary which will aid learning in a number of other subjects being studied in the curriculum. Latin focuses your ability to analyse and identify grammar, whilst providing a vocabulary from which 60% of everyday spoken English derives. Pupils are given the ability to read and translate famous works by some of histories most important authors, whilst being submerged in the foundations of a culture to which we owe some of our greatest achievements and advancements.
Year 8 Latin
Pupils study Book 1 of the Cambridge Latin Course, following the life of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus and his family in ancient Pompeii in AD79. Pupils are immersed into the ancient life of a Roman family, learning about all aspects of their lives, from their excursions to the amphitheatre to witness a set of gladiatorial games, to the Roman baths, where they could relax in the varied steam rooms and hot pools to bathe in. The course is taught alongside the eCLC online I.T. resource, providing pupils with a range of resources, such as video clips and interactive exercises. The pupils will develop a basic understanding of the language and its grammar in Year 8, whilst studying the culture and background.
Year 9 Latin
Pupils can opt to continue Latin into Year 9, where they will build upon their understanding of the language in a more demanding, yet enriching course, whilst maintaining a focus on Roman culture. Pupils study books 2 and 3 of the Cambridge Latin Course and book 2 of e-learning program, following Caecilius’s son, Quintus’s, journey to Alexandria and Roman Britain. Pupils will study the Roman Conquest of Britain by both Julius Caesar and Claudius, whilst studying aspects of revolution, such as the uprising by Boudicca. In addition to this, pupils will research the ancient city of Alexandria, its beginning and end, and its desire to house all the knowledge of the world. Finally, pupils will study the Roman legion, gaining an understanding into how the Romans were so successful for so long. Within all these aspects of history and culture, pupils will focus their learning towards more complex aspects of the language, gaining a deeper understanding of both the grammar and more advanced sentence structure. The focus for the Year 9 course is to push pupils towards higher level Latin, so as to allow them a glimpse of the level required for GCSE, whilst actually building up a solid foundation of the language for those pupils who do wish to continue the subject.
GCSE Latin
At GCSE, pupils move their focus to passages of verse and prose written by famous Latin authors, such as Caesar, Virgil, Tacitus or Pliny (dependant upon the prescription by the examining board.) Pupils are required to translate in class set amounts of these famous author’s texts, analysing their context and language, whilst gaining an insight into real life perspectives on ancient Roman culture.
Texts that cover themes from history and mythology are studied in depth, whilst pupils develop their abilities to translate unseen passages by cementing their knowledge of the language, which they have built up since Year 8.
Westholme's new Senior Boys' School from September 2012!
