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A level Latin

Classics expert George Chalzedos teaches Latin at Ashbourne. He offers students plenty of individual focus and guidance throughout the course.

George also brings a wealth of experience as an assistant examiner for the OCR exam board helping students prepare for their final exams.

Why study Latin?

Learning Latin will open a gateway to discovering an ancient world whose thinkers helped shape Western culture and whose authors laid the ground for great writers like Shakespeare, Keats and Eliot, to name but a few.

Join Aeneas for example, from Virgil’s Aeneid, on his epic journey across stormy seas, through even stormier love affairs to the world of the dead where he fends for himself against the angry and vengeful Queen of the Gods, Juno, until he finally reaches Italy and founds the Roman people. What better way to learn Latin than through heroic tales and stirring poetry?

Latin is a challenging subject that demands rigour, commitment and attention to detail. Once you secure your understanding of the structure and rules however learning modern spoken languages will seem a breeze.

Which syllabus do we follow?

Ashbourne follows the OCR specification for A level Latin.

What does this course cover?

Students will become familiar with the prose and verse of authors like Cicero, Tacitus, Livy, Apuleius, Seneca, Virgil, Ovid, Horace and Catullus from the first century BC and the first century AD and begin to appreciate them within their literary, social and historical contexts.

Through the exploration of these ancient texts, students will also build their knowledge of vocabulary and develop an understanding of linguistic structure including syntax (how words are put together to create phrases, clauses and sentences) and accidence (how the forms of words change for a particular use).

Students will critically analyse and evaluate the texts and learn how to translate from Latin to English and vice versa. Students will be also able to read translations of the literature to aid their understanding.

Who teaches this course?

George Chaldezos

BA Hons (University of Thessaloniki); BA Hons (Cologne); PhD study (Cambridge); PGCE (London)

George teaches Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisations, and has been head of Ashbourne’s Classics department since 2003. He is a member of the Association for Latin Teaching and is an assistant examiner for the OCR exam board and the Cambridge Pre-U.

Beyond A level Latin

Latin offers an excellent foundation for students interested in studying Modern Languages, Ancient History, Classics, Theology, Philosophy, Law and Medicine.

Suggested reading and resources

Keeping Latin Alive

A selection of websites offering a huge variety of quizzes, classic texts and other resources, compiled by Online Universities, to help you practise Latin.

Latin Love Lessons: Put a Little Ovid in Your Life – Charlotte Higgins

A very light hearted romp around Roman romance.

Textbooks

Cicero’s Pro Milone

Tacitus’ Annals I

Virgil’s Aeneid

Ovid’s Amores

Horace’s Odes

Catullus’ Poems

Scheme of Work

A level

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