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Preface

Since 1984 HM Inspectorate has published a number of Curriculum Matters papers designed to stimulate discussion about the curriculum as a whole and its component parts. In some cases readers' responses to these papers have also been published. The details of the series titles are shown at the end of this publication.

Classics from 5 to 16, the twelfth in the series, sets out a framework within which schools might develop a programme for the teaching and learning of classics and for the use of classical themes and ideas within the curriculum as a whole. It focuses on the aims and objectives of classics in primary and secondary schools. It considers the implications of these aims and objectives for the choice of content, for teaching approaches, for curricular organisation and for the assessment of pupils' progress.

This paper is addressed not only to heads and teachers but also to school governors, local education authority (LEA) elected members and officers, parents, employers and the wider community outside the school. Like earlier publications in the Curriculum Matters series, this is a discussion paper intended to stimulate a professional debate and to contribute to reaching national agreement about the objectives and content of the school curriculum.

That debate will now take place within the arrangements for developing the National Curriculum contained in the Education Reform Act. It will need to consider not only the use that can be made of the classical world in teaching the prescribed subjects of the National Curriculum but also the claims of classics, as a subject in its own right, to a share of the time available for 'non-foundation' subjects.

This document should be read as a whole, since all sections are interrelated. For example, the lists of objectives must be seen in relation to the defmed aims and to what is said about the principles of teaching and assessment.

If you have any comments, please send them to HM Inspector (Classics), Department of Education and Science, York Road, London SE1 7PH, by 30 April 1989.

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Introduction

1. Most pupils, both in primary and in secondary schools, encounter material from the Greek and Roman worlds. A smaller number have the opportunity, often in the early secondary years, to take a 'foundation course' in classical civilisation; some have the chance to learn Latin or Greek; and Latin, Greek and classical civilisation are among the subjects which they may choose to study at the GCSE stage and beyond. Although classics no longer holds the place which it once did in the school curriculum, the purpose of this document is to suggest that it has a distinctive contribution to make.

2. Although the Education Reform Act 1988 does not designate classics as a foundation subject of the National Curriculum, many secondary schools will nevertheless want to include it in the time available for 'non-foundation' subjects. At primary level much of what is proposed here could be delivered through subjects which are in the foundation. Some elements of classical civilisation could be provided in this way in the early secondary years too, though careful planning would be needed to give any coherence and the possibility of progression. A separate and coherent course, planned in accordance with the needs and abilities of the pupils and taught or informed by a classics specialist, is preferable; for the classical languages a separate allocation of time is essential.

3. In what follows, two groups of questions are explored:

• what contact with the classical world is it appropriate to provide for all pupils, and what benefits might they be expected to derive from it?
• what, in addition, is it reasonable to expect of those pupils whose study of a classical subject has been more extensive or more specialised?

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The nature and scope of the subject

4. Classics in schools is not confined to the learning of Latin and Greek. The subject now includes, as well as the classical languages, 'classical civilisation' - the study of the Greco-Roman world as a whole: its literature and history, its social and political development, its philosophy, art, architecture and technology. The field is vast, and a selection must be made. But whatever the approach and whatever the age of the pupils there are two main reasons for studying the classical world: its intrinsic interest, and its capacity to increase pupils' understanding of themselves and of the world in which they live.

5. The study of a classical language, where it is possible, can add greatly to pupils' knowledge and understanding of the ancient world. A priority in any Latin or Greek course should be to equip pupils to read some classical literature in the original language and hence to gain a deeper insight into the Greeks and Romans - their ways of thought and expression, their attitudes and values - than they might otherwise achieve. Because it is concerned by this means to give pupils a richer appreciation of their own society and culture, a Latin or Greek course is not just a 'language' study. Like any other classical course, it can be seen as a significant contributor to the school's work in the human and social area of experience.

Intrinsic worth

6. The cultures of Greece and Rome were marked by outstanding achievements in art, architecture, literature, drama, technology, and historical, political and philosophical thought. Any classical course should introduce pupils to a selection of these acknowledged masterpieces as items worth studying in their own right.

Coherence and integration

7. A distinctive merit of classics, whether approached through a classical language or through artefacts and translated material, is that it deals with periods and cultures in which political, intellectual, literary and artistic developments, and the interaction between them, are often well documented; and which are on a small enough scale to be viewed as a whole. In using classical material, a good teacher

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will cross the traditional subject boundaries. In the secondary school, for example, pupils could take a limited span of time and place (such as Athens in the fifth century BC or Rome in the first century AD) and within this begin to build up a coherent picture embracing many different aspects of human experience and achievement.

A common heritage

8. Greece and Rome have also profoundly affected later developments in all these fields both in Britain and elsewhere. The influence of ancient myth - Orpheus, Oedipus, Antigone, Odysseus - has been particularly powerful. Whether pupils are looking at Victorian buildings, comparing democracy with communism, investigating the way their own language works or performing Shakespeare, their understanding can be informed and enriched by familiarity with the general classical background and with the specific allusions which are made. Since much of this cultural and linguistic heritage is shared by otherwise diverse and even antagonistic nations of the modern world, classics offers a useful perspective from which to develop a European awareness and to approach some aspects of multi-cultural education.

A different world

9. The ancient world, in its language and thought, is as profoundly different from our own as it is in some respects strikingly similar. To understand it, pupils must develop an open and sympathetic attitude to the past and the unfamiliar, which in turn should help them to reassess the language, culture and values of the present day and develop a more tolerant attitude to customs and practices unlike their own. Any classical course should develop in pupils a more critical and reflective understanding of the world in which they live.

A powerful stimulus

10. The richness and interest of much (not all) classical material make it readily accessible to pupils of widely differing ages and abilities. In the hands of a skilled teacher it offers an effective medium through which to develop a number of skills and attitudes which most teachers, of any subject, regard as important. For example, whether pupils learn a classical language or not, their contacts with the classical world should kindle their imagination, stimulate an informed personal response and demand rigour and precision - in observation

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and recording, in the analysis of linguistic features and the abstraction of information, and in the disciplined application of historical judgement.

An understanding of language

11. Any classical course contributes, with other subjects, to pupils' command of their own language. In particular, it can help them to develop a sensitivity to language - especially an awareness of subtlety of expression, shades of meaning, ambiguity and bias. The study of a classical language offers additional opportunities to increase pupils' understanding of their own language and of language in general. Their course will naturally draw attention to the roots of English, Welsh and Romance words, and hence to the underlying richness of their meanings; but it should also focus attention on the means by which ideas are formulated and communicated.

• introduce pupils to a selection of the major achievements of the Greeks and Romans in such fields as literature, art, architecture, science, medicine, technology and law;
• introduce pupils to significant aspects of the historical, political and philosophical thought of the classical period;

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• kindle their imagination through contact with the classical world and stimulate a personal response;
• develop an open and sympathetic attitude towards the past and the unfamiliar;
• develop a critical and reflective understanding of the world in which they live;
• develop a European awareness through an understanding of their cultural and linguistic heritage;
• develop tolerant but not uncritical attitudes towards customs and practices unlike their own;
• develop pupils' powers of observation, abstraction and analysis of information, judgement and communication;
• enhance their command of language by requiring them to pay close attention to the relationship between concepts and the words and structures used to express them;
• provide an adequate foundation for the study of a classical subject beyond the age of 16.

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• extend their range of vocabulary and give them confidence in handling it;
• develop their appreciation of literature through their contact with writings of different kinds and periods;
• understand some of the purposes, other than literary, for which writing has been used throughout the ages;
• respond imaginatively to what they read;
• improve a range of oral and writing skills.

17. Much Greek and Roman literature can excite the younger reader (stories from the Iliad or Odyssey of Homer, for instance) or illuminate a topic being studied (for example Caesar's account of the invasion of Britain or Pliny's report of the eruption of Vesuvius). A great deal of 'non-literary' Latin and Greek has also survived and is accessible in translated form: inscriptions from Roman Britain; lettering on Greek vases; recipes from Roman cookbooks; graffiti from Pompeii; inscriptions on tombstones; words on Greek and Roman coins. All these kinds of source material can put pupils in

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contact with what was thought and felt by peoples of other times, while developing their sense of how writing varies in form and expression in accordance with the nature of the audience and the reasons for which it is done.

18. The telling of Greek and Roman stories (particularly myth and legend) can encourage pupils to respond in a variety of forms including drama, creative writing and other expressive arts. Useful checklists of some oral and written skills which the curriculum should seek to develop in pupils of various ages are to be found in the publication English from 5 to 16: Curriculum Matters 1. As that document argues, many of these activities should not be practised in isolation, but should arise in the course of work in various aspects of the curriculum. In this connection, such material as classical myth and legend may have a special contribution to make.

19. Pupils' learning about the classical world can make an important contribution to the human and social area of experience. It should enable them, for example, to:

• have direct contact with the material remains of other cultures;
• develop historical concepts relating to chronological sequence, cause and effect, and the nature of evidence;
• become involved imaginatively with the lives of people of other eras and make comparisons between those lives and their own;
• acquire some knowledge and understanding of the sources of their own culture and society;
• develop their own political, moral and spiritual values by comparison with other such values;
• understand something of the functions performed by myth in ancient and modern society.

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study ancient historical evidence in great detail. Studying other societies may also help pupils to understand human institutions and to enter through the imagination into aspects of the personal, social and economic lives of others. Pupils' understanding and interpretation of the past, can be helped considerably by visits to local museums and to such sites as Fishbourne, Hadrian's Wall and Caerleon, especially if opportunities can be provided to handle, as well as to look at, artefacts from the Roman world.

21. Exemplars of moral judgements and religious views drawn from other societies may provide pupils with valuable points of entry into some central questions of human life. Discussion of Greek or Roman attitudes to slavery, the status of women in society, the Olympian gods or gladiatorial contests can help them to articulate fundamental moral questions, discover something of the cultural conditioning on which many of a society's judgements depend, and gain a greater sensitivity to and tolerance of the diversity of values and religious practice in their own world. Listening and responding to myth should be a powerful and enjoyable experience in itself. But many myths point beyond themselves to offer explanations of life' and the world and to express society's aspirations, obsessions or fears. In looking at the Greeks' myths of creation or causation, it may be possible to show the extent to which our own world still relies on myths, whether of scientists or of television advertisers.

22. Their experience of the classical world may also help pupils to:

• develop their aesthetic appreciation through studying artistic achievements of high quality;
• gain some awareness of the importance of the arts in society;
• develop some of their own creative skills;
• understand something of the effects of using different materials and media.

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development of artistic techniques and opportunities to appreciate the finest expression of those techniques (as in the Parthenon, or the monumental bronze statues from Athens in the fifth century BC). It may be possible to look in a simple way at functional aspects of the arts in the ancient world: the connections between pottery and trade, for example, or between temple or theatre building and the state religious festivals. Pupils may copy or adapt techniques and designs they have encountered, for example in pottery, painting or mosaic work; and they may be encouraged to respond to stories from myth, legend or history, and to what they have seen at sites and museums, by creating their own dramatic, artistic, musical or literary versions. Ancient societies were restricted in the range of materials, colours and media available to them in their artistic expression and design. It can be valuable to consider how they set about trying to overcome these limitations and to make the most of their natural resources.

24. Their experience of the classical world may help pupils to:

• understand some basic mathematical and scientific language and concepts, by comparing ancient and modern practices and attitudes;
• gain some appreciation of the importance of empirical methods in science and technology;
• learn how practical needs can generate technical developments;
• develop problem solving skills by considering practical examples.

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experiment by individual Greeks. In each case the principles and methods employed can be understood by 11-year-old pupils; and investigation of them can raise important questions about why some of these ideas and discoveries were not built upon or put to practical use in ancient times.

26. Ancient technology provides many possibilities for enabling pupils to exercise skill in reaching solutions to problems. Groups might be invited, for example, to consider the implications of building a new town in Roman Britain using only the range of materials, machinery and techniques on which the Romans depended. Or they might be asked to look at some ancient invention such as the klepsydra (water clock) used in Greek and Roman Iawcourts, and try to devise a more accurate alternative, using only materials and techniques available in ancient times.

Planning and organisation in the primary and early secondary years

27. In infant and lower junior classes the pupils' first encounter with the classical world is likely to be through listening to a re-telling of myths and legends, many of which have a direct appeal to young children. They can be a powerful stimulus to the imagination, especially when they involve the supernatural or the fantastic; and they can raise children's awareness of basic questions about morality and truth - 'Was it right to kill the monster?', 'Did it really happen?', 'Could it have happened like that?'. Handling objects from the past and discussing what they are and when they might have been used can help children at this stage to form an idea of chronology - to give a clearer meaning to such expressions as 'long ago' and 'in the olden days'. Objects from the classical world, a piece of broken pottery for example, could be included along with more recent items. Radio and television programmes based on topics from the Greek and Roman world (myth and legend; historical events and famous people; daily life) often elicit worthwhile work in imaginative writing, discussion, dance and drama, painting and model making. Throughout the infant and early junior years the prime reasons for including classical material in the curriculum must always be its appeal to young children and its capacity to contribute to the aims of primary education. In the process, the seeds may be sown for an interest in, and curiosity about, the classical world which can form the basis of systematic study in later years.

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28. In the upper junior and lower secondary years one principal argument for considering the classical world is its capacity to integrate different aspects of human experience. It is possible to include Greek or Roman components in the planned scheme of work for:

• a major theme (for example water, transport or warfare);
• an individual subject (such as history, geography, English or religious education).

An alternative approach is to focus some of the work on a classical theme which crosses the traditional subject boundaries. A teacher might, for example:

• use a single source from the classical world (a myth, a site visit, a piece of historical evidence, a passage of literature) as the starting point for a range of explorations and responses which may embrace many areas of the curriculum;
• make a particular classical period the focus for work in as many areas of the curriculum as possible for a limited period of time (a month or a term, perhaps), so that pupils end this section of their course with a worthwhile insight into the people they are studying;
• select appropriate aspects of the Greco-Roman world as vehicles for achieving specific skills (of observation or communication), attitudes (tolerance, independent thought) or understanding of concepts (for example, cause and effect, slavery, or democracy).

30. Whatever the structural pattern, factual information is not the only, or even the principal, objective. It is far better to explore one myth fully than to learn the factual outlines of 20.

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Similarly it is more profitable to investigate a single period in some depth than to try to span the whole of Greek and Roman civilisation.

31. At each stage, the classical content of the work should be related to the intellectual and emotional development of the pupils and should build on their previous knowledge and experience. For good reasons the topics which pupils encounter in the primary and early secondary years, and the depth to which they study them, will vary from one school to another; they will depend on such factors as the location of the school, the interests and expertise of teachers, and the way the curriculum is organised. However, there are some elements of the classical world which can press a particularly strong case for inclusion in the curriculum because they are:

• readily understood by younger children and available in suitable books;
• intrinsically rich and rewarding;
• able to exemplify and illuminate subjects or themes commonly and appositely treated in these years.

32. Myth and legend, especially Greek. Many of the myths and legends from the ancient world are exceedingly vivid, potent and appealing. The case for introducing myth to children is argued forcefully by Elizabeth Cook in The ordinary and the fabulous. She writes of the Greek stories:

There is a hard, alert, often cheerful objectivity in the way in which most of them were told in antiquity. It is congenial to children between the ages of 8 and 11 and the best modern versions retain it.

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introduced. However, of all the sources of classical material encountered by pupils, this should probably be among the first. Not all stories, of course, are equally suitable for younger children, but there is an appropriate nucleus of familiar myths and legends which includes Orpheus and Eurydice; Theseus and the Minotaur; Demeter and Persephone; Atalanta; Zeus and Prometheus; and the legends of Troy.

33. Roman Britain. How strongly the pupils are aware of the Roman remains in Britain may well depend on where they live. Those living near Hadrian's Wall, for example, may well have had an interest in the Romans kindled by visits to some of the principal sites. In other parts of the country, the remoteness of the Romans historically may be matched by the relative inaccessibility of Roman remains. Yet, properly mediated, archaeological sites and artefacts from another period may be an important way of helping to bring a society to life and may pose historical questions in a particularly sharp form. This kind of approach may be especially helpful for pupils aged from 10 to 12, whose chronological perspectives may be hazy but whose curiosity about the past is often great.

34. Roman (and particularly Pompeian) social life. Pupils' contact with some of the physical remains of the culture introduced to Britain by the Romans might lead to a study of aspects of that culture for which the evidence comes from Italy. The extraordinary survival of Pompeii and Herculaneum provides a uniquely graphic source of material with which to illustrate such topics as housing, the family, food and drink, religion and entertainment. Material from this source has been referred to in relation to many of the curricular objectives discussed above, and can form a major component of any classical course for pupils from 12 to 14.

35. To include in the curriculum an agreed selection of classical themes or materials is no guarantee of either a coherent or a progressive experience for pupils: a planned progression in the objectives to be achieved is essential. Sometimes, for good reasons, pupils will encounter at 13 or 14 a story, or incident, or topic which they first met at the age of 8. What matters is that the level of response demanded from individual pupils at 13 shall be higher than that which was expected five years earlier; that the objectives to be achieved at each stage shall be carefully planned; and that at each stage

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pupils' earlier experiences shall be taken as fully as possible into account.

Objectives in GCSE-related work

36. Many of the objectives identified for the earlier years of the course apply equally to the GCSE stage. They will need to be refined and developed, there will be changes of emphasis, and teaching approaches will naturally incorporate materials of increasing complexity and demand greater maturity of understanding and response; but the framework should still prove useful. In addition, it may be helpful to consider what The curriculum from 5 to 16: Curriculum Matters 2 terms the elements of learning: the knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes (and values) which the curriculum seeks to promote.

37. Knowledge. Although the acquisition of factual information is not in itself a principal objective of the course, a secure grasp of the evidence which is readily available must always precede, and underlie, the making of judgements and the expression of opinions. What pupils need to know will depend on the particular aspects of the classical world which have been selected for study. Some criteria which might properly influence that selection are set out in paragraphs 42-45.

38. Conceptual understanding. A classical civilisation course seeks to use the selected content to impart, through the knowledge which has been acquired, some understanding of a variety of general ideas and concepts - whether literary, philosophical, artistic, political or historical. Many of these concepts take on a distinctive connotation when applied to the classical world. This is true, for example, of such ideas as slave, house, temple, virtue or empire. It can be rewarding to compare the range of meanings which were connoted by the Greek or Roman concepts which correspond most closely to our own words. One specific concept which study of the Greeks (especially) and Romans ought to explore and develop in pupils' minds is antithesis - for example, between human custom and divine law; between theory and practice (or word and deed); between moral duty and expediency, the individual and society, liberty and enslavement.

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39. In developing pupils' appreciation of antithesis, the similarities and differences between the classical world and that of today provide many obvious entry points. Pupils may be helped to recognise that an apparent identity between the classical world and our own may mask important differences. It would be entirely misleading, for example, for pupils to think that only a few peculiarities like the chorus prevent a Greek tragedy from being drama as the twentieth century understands it; or to talk about the fifth-century Athenian popular assembly as if it closely resembled our representative parliament and its citizens conformed to a version of Christian morality. At the same time some superficial differences may conceal essential similarities: many of the political issues which faced the Greeks and Romans are still with us.

40. Skills and capabilities. The precise intellectual, personal and practical skills developed will vary with the particular topics selected; however, all syllabuses should seek to develop a number of the following skills:

• the capacity, when handling classical material, to observe and record; to abstract and analyse information; to make use of observation to ask questions, solve problems and identify what is relevant to an enquiry; to reason clearly and pay due regard to evidence;
• the ability to respond to the stimulus of the ancient world by using English creatively and critically, and through such practical skills as designing, modelling, painting and acting;
• the capacity to read works of classical literature in translation with enjoyment and understanding, including some appreciation of their literary qualities or historical importance, and some understanding of the author's intentions and technique;
• the development of critical faculties in appreciating products of the visual arts, including architecture, sculpture, painting and pottery;
• the ability to draw on the different aspects of the civilisation studied in order to gain a more coherent picture and perceive inter-relationships; and to use evidence from such sources as archaeological sites and museums to inform this picture.

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41. Attitudes and values. A classical civilisation course should be helping to develop such attitudes and values as:

• sensitivity to language, respect for its complexity and awareness of subtlety of expression and shades of meaning;
• readiness to enter into the thought forms, motives and attitudes of widely different cultures;
• respect for reason and the desire to make a well-informed and open-minded approach to problems;
• curiosity about the past, and about the motives and reasons which lie behind human actions;
• receptivity to new experiences and the ideas of other people; a lack of arrogance about our own cultural values;
• developing independence of thought; the growth of personal values and beliefs in religion, morality or politics;
• appreciation of and admiration for the highest qualities in human life and achievement.

42. The broad aims of a classical course set out in paragraphs 12-14 provide a general framework for the construction of a classical civilisation syllabus for the years leading up to GCSE. They suggest that it should:

• involve the study of items of intrinsic worth and quality;
• promote a coherent view of some aspects of the classical world;
• assist pupils' understanding of the influence of the classical heritage on our own culture;
• enable pupils to explore the contrasts, as well as the similarities, between the classical world and our own;

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• exclude material which is unlikely to be accessible and intelligible to pupils of this age;
• contribute to pupils' understanding and use of language by providing opportunities to study, as literature and as evidence, some writing by classical authors.

44. Syllabuses aiming at a coherent, worthwhile experience of the classical world may nevertheless, very reasonably, take many different slants. One syllabus will have a strong historical bias; another may emphasise technology; one will give greater weight to sociological, political or economic aspects and another to literary and aesthetic appreciation. What is important is that the course shall have within it some main focus to which pupils devote a fair proportion of their time and attention. Two periods which have a strong claim to be considered are:

• Greece (especially Athens) in the fifth and fourth centuries BC;
• Rome (and the Roman Empire) in the first century BC and the first century AD.

45. A classical civilisation syllabus might consist of: (a) all Greek material; (b) all Roman; (c) a Greek section and a

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Roman section; (d) topics straddling Greece and Rome. A syllabus which permits candidates to concentrate entirely on one or other civilisation permits greater depth of treatment and closer integration - and, especially if it could be assumed that pupils had studied aspects of the other society in earlier years, this might well be the preferred option. On the other hand, a course containing both Greek and Roman sections invites many fruitful comparisons between the two civilisations - which, in many senses, are not separable. There are attractions in the idea of (d), taking themes (for example the status of women) and considering them in relation to both the Greek and the Roman world.

Principles of teaching and learning

Use of source material

46. A classical civilisation syllabus should be firmly based on the evidence provided by the ancient world itself. Primary source material available to the teacher falls into two broad categories:

• written - literary and epigraphic (inscriptions, coinage). There is no shortage of English translations of literary material - some of them extremely daunting in their linguistic and conceptual demands, others readily intelligible to younger or less confident readers. Classical literature is rarely so self-explanatory or straightforward, however, that it can be left for pupils of 14 to 16 to read entirely unaided. Reading aloud in class can be a valuable means of aiding comprehension as well as providing opportunities for discussion of themes and issues raised, or questions of literary appreciation. To juxtapose two or more literary sources, or to set a non-literary, item of source material beside the literary evidence, may encourage historical analysis and interpretation.
  
  
• archaeological - surviving buildings, excavated sites and artefacts (sculpture, painted pottery, functional and decorative objects) housed mainly in museums. Opportunities to exploit archaeological sites or museum visits can be invaluable in adding vividness to pupils' perceptions. Probably nothing can do more to enhance their enjoyment and understanding of the classical world

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than a properly planned visit to Greece or Italy - a source of learning which is now appreciated and exploited to great advantage by many schools. For much of the work, however, it will be necessary to rely on illustrated books, slides, filmstrips or videotaped materials. They all need to be handled with care; pupils can easily misunderstand the effects of photography - most obviously in the matters of size and scale. Moreover, it can be tempting to accompany the showing of slides and films by over-use of expository teaching methods, and hence lose the opportunity to encourage personal response to what is being shown. One simple - but frequently neglected - way of permitting individual exploration of aspects of classical art is to use hand-held viewers.

47. Many of the objectives set out above can be realised only if pupils have some scope for working on their own. A frequent method of encouraging such individual work within examination courses at this level is the project, which at its best can yield sustained pieces of personal writing of high quality. It is open to abuse, however. Pupils sometimes have access only to materials which are beyond their level of comprehension; and even where this is not the case there is the risk of wholesale and unthinking copying of text. Some kinds of individual work which may avoid these dangers are:

• independent research which involves analysis of a variety of sources;
• expressive and creative writing or imaginative artwork;
• assignments which exploit pupils' individual skills, such as photography, model making or computer programming.

48. Classics has sometimes tended to confine itself largely to highly academic, theoretical modes of working, overlooking the great potential of the subject for work of a practical character. To devote time to such areas as the physical and technological can invite attention to practical problems and, if activity is planned accordingly, promote practical skills. One GCSE course, for example, includes a topic on the place of

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textiles in Greek and Roman society, and provides opportunities for pupils to practise spinning and weaving using the materials and methods employed in the ancient world.

Oral work

49. Undue reliance on written language at the expense of oral work can lead to problems for many pupils in understanding the material which is set before them. It can also restrict their response by not allowing them to articulate their views. Productive talk in class may often occur in a full-class discussion chaired by a teacher; but other groupings may need to be exploited if all pupils are to participate equally in oral work. The possibilities include: pairs debating an issue; small groups talking through a problem they have been set; individual presentations. Classical civilisation courses invite such a variety of treatment - in responding to literature, exploring social or political issues, discussing moral or religious values, interpreting and evaluating visual materials, and performing dramatic sequences (from tragedy or comedy, or based on myth and legend).

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Traditionally they were regarded as suitable only for a limited group of pupils at the upper end of the ability range. Fresh priorities within the subject and new teaching approaches have now brought a classical language within the competence of many more pupils - at any rate in the early stages; but it is reasonable to expect that in most schools the majority of pupils studying Latin or Greek will continue to come from the upper half of the full ability range.

52. For a variety of reasons, many of them historical, pupils who have the opportunity of learning a classical language are offered Latin far more commonly than Greek, and most pupils starting Greek already know some Latin. However, the arguments for giving priority to Latin are not overwhelming, and some schools which have a choice might well consider offering Greek first instead. It would follow on naturally from the studies of Greek myth and society which play an important part in many classical foundation courses; the use of an unfamiliar alphabet gives it an immediate appeal to some pupils; and Greek does not suffer from the out-dated prejudices which still affect the attitudes of some pupils, and their parents, towards Latin.

53. Some pupils who begin a classical language will pursue it to the GCSE stage, or to GCE Advanced level, or may go on to specialise in it at university. Others will not continue beyond the early stages. It is often not possible to predict, when a pupil begins, how far he or she will continue. The teacher of a classical language therefore has to provide pupils with two things:

• a sufficiently firm grounding for subsequent, more specialised study;
• a broad, relevant and coherent experience which is of value in its own right.

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Objectives in the early stages

The objectives proposed in the following paragraphs, and the examples which illustrate them, are framed in terms of Latin; they should be understood as applying equally, with the obvious minor modifications, to the study of Greek.

Reading

54. The teaching of modern foreign languages at this stage aims principally to develop pupils' ability to communicate in the language. By contrast, a pupil's most direct access to the Romans is through what they wrote, and the principal justification for teaching Latin to the GCSE stage is that it gives direct access to the reading of Latin literature. It is logical therefore that the reading of continuous passages in Latin should occupy a central role from the beginning.

55. What pupils read in the early stages should:

• provide a context in which to acquire, practise and extend an understanding of common grammatical structures;
• be sufficiently interesting in its content to motivate them to explore the meaning and to read further;
• lead them gradually, via made up or adapted material, towards authentic Latin by introducing them to the 'flavour' of real Latin and to the characteristic literary techniques (vocabulary, word order, style, tone) of the Roman authors whose works they may later read;
• be set in a context designed to increase their awareness of the society, values and achievements of the Roman world;
• introduce a range of key Roman concepts (such as familia, servus, civis; dignitas, imperium, virtus);
• culminate if possible in the reading of some authentic Latin: simple classical texts (a poem of Catullus, or some Ovid, perhaps); inscriptions, including epitaphs and imperial statements (possibly with examples from British churches); ecclesiastical Latin; simple medieval Latin; coinage and mottoes.

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56. This reading of authentic Latin is particularly important if there are pupils who will not be proceeding to the later stages of the course; but all should benefit from the realisation, as early as possible, that the Latin they have learnt can be applied to a practical purpose. Many pupils will need considerable help from the teacher, perhaps even the support of an English translation, if they are to explore even the simplest authentic text at this stage; and if time is to be made available for this activity, some other aspects of the work (exploration of some of the more complex grammatical features, for example) may have to be postponed. But the price is worth paying.

Speaking and listening

57. All pupils who have studied Latin, even though not to public examination level, should have:

• listened to good examples of spoken Latin, prose and verse, with accurate pronunciation and expression;
• acquired the skill of speaking passages of Latin aloud confidently, fluently and with reasonable accuracy;
• understood the basic elements of Latin pronunciation, including syllabic length;
• begun to appreciate the importance of the spoken word in Roman society and, especially, the rhetorical character of much literary Latin;
• been introduced to simple examples of such rhetorical devices as alliteration and the use of poetic rhythms;
• gained a practical understanding of the different ways in which emphasis is achieved, in Latin and in spoken and written English.

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words into the right order'. But most Latin literature was designed to be read aloud and to be understood and appreciated aurally, and hearing and speaking the language are important to the learner, for two reasons:

• Because the language is inflected, Latin can modify word order, more subtly than English can, to shift the emphasis, vary the tone, and convey nuances of meaning. The 'right' order is therefore the Latin word order, selected by the author as the most effective means of conveying what he has to say; and to grasp the significance of word order pupils need regularly to hear the language read, and to try reading it for themselves, as well as to see it written down.
• Literary Latin, both prose and verse, depends for much of its effect on the sounds of words, individually and in juxtaposition, and on such rhetorical devices as antithesis and alliteration, which can be fully appreciated only when a passage is read aloud and the words pronounced correctly.

Writing

59. What has been said about the reading and speaking of Latin has implications for what pupils write and how they write. Pupils need to respond in writing to the content and feeling of what they read and to be given recognition for their success in this. They should have regular opportunities to:

• express in English, in their own words, the substance of what the Latin is saying - the principal events in the narrative, the main point which the writer is trying to make, or the feeling which the poem conveys;
• experience the satisfaction of translating a passage of Latin into good, clear English, accurately and with due regard to style and tone;

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• write in good English about the subject matter of what they have read in Latin and about aspects of the Roman world which they have encountered: this work should include some sustained writing and involve a variety of responses - imaginative, critical, empathetic or analytic.

60. The study of how the Latin language works should aim to enhance pupils' understanding of the nature of English and of language in general. Thus in looking at verbs, for example, and learning about tense, mood and voice, pupils can note common features of Latin and English, distinctive features of each, and the effects of any differences. Provided that they can arise naturally and in context, and be treated without undue abstraction, some complex linguistic concepts can be introduced to pupils, in a simple form, quite early in the course. These might include: