Latin

A dead language? Not at the Chorister School.

From the age of eight upwards, our pupils learn about this ancient language and Roman culture, and benefit immeasurably from doing so.

Junior pupils study Latin through the Minimus Primary Latin Course. Language and classical culture are introduced through written and oral translation of cartoons, stories, songs and plays from Latin into English. The course involves two textbooks, Minimus and Minimus Secundus. Highlights include Roman cookery sessions and the annual excursion to Vindolanda.

Pupils in the Fifth (Y7) and Sixth (Y8) forms have three thirty-minute Latin lessons a week and one thirty-minute prep. The senior programme of study is based on Books One and Two of the Cambridge Latin Course, which was selected for its suitability for the limited timetable, its excellent online resources and its popularity in pupils’ subsequent schools; over eighty per cent of British schools studying Latin now use this course. Results at Common Entrance have been excellent over the last few years.

For our pupils, however, Latin is not the stereotypically-dry subject as its reputation sometimes suggests, delivered entirely within the confines of the classroom. Junior pupils enjoy re-enactments and plays, while senior pupils have a wealth of opportunities available to them. Our Sixth Form scholars visit places of classical interest such as the British Museum, and we enter teams in the annual Northumberland and Durham Classical Association Schools' Competition, meeting with recent successes. At the Chorister School, the Latin language is very much alive.