The study of Latin begins in Year 4 with an introduction to the subject via the Minimus coursebook, a colourful series of episodes from the life of a family who lived at Vindolanda on Hadrian’s Wall in Roman Britain.
Ultimately, all children are prepared in appropriate sets to sit Common Entrance or Scholarship examinations and along the way we study background topics from Roman daily life, Classical history and mythology as well as the language.
We visit Roman sites and Museums to inspect artefacts, we dress up on Roman Day and act out scenes from the myths we study, we practise speaking Latin as the Romans would have done.
Latin is about understanding the nuts and bolts of language itself. It equips a child for the formal study of the grammar of modern languages that they may choose to study later.
Understanding the root meaning of English words together with their correct spelling, practising the formalities of English grammar, learning about the Roman Empire and the beginnings of modern Europe are all benefits from studying the subject.
Add to that the wealth of the great stories from mythology that form the material that we read and you have the recipe for a subject that both challenges and engages prep school children.
Cupid astride a dolphin - mosaic from Fishbourne Roman Palace