It is often said that Classics is useless for anything; rather, it is useful for everything! Because Classics is the study of a complete civilization – from political theory to literature, from history to art – it is a highly-regarded way of demonstrating all-round academic and applied ability. Classical subjects are ideal to back up any other Arts subjects; indeed they complement any combination of subjects. An A Level in a classical subject does not necessarily mean Classics at university. Many students go on to read Mathematics, Engineering, Natural Sciences, Law, Music, Modern Languages and many other subjects.
- Latin and Greek: Latin and Greek AS and A Level are literature-based. At both levels, set texts are studied, a combination of prose and verse, as at GCSE level. Language work continues to support the understanding of the literature, and subsequently the discussion of its qualities and style. In Latin, we usually read one epic and a historian or orator. In Greek, it is usually a tragedy or comedy, and Homer.
- Classical Civilization: Classical Civilization continues from GCSE level, but those with no prior knowledge of the subject are at no disadvantage. Topics studied are wide-ranging and focus on the study of theories or periods in the Classical World through literature in translation. Topics include Philosophy, the role of Women, Early Roman Emperors, Greek Theatre, and Art and Architecture. High levels of literary and evaluation skills, such as are found in English and History are preferable, if you haven’t taken the subject before.
Exam boards:
- Classical Civilization - AQA
- Greek - OCR
- Latin - OCR
Dr S J Wakefield
Head of Classics