Classics
In Years 1, 2 and 3, Greek mythology and topics of Roman life are taught by form teachers.
We start the Latin language course in Year 6 and the A Band of Year 5, using Disce Latinum, a course which takes the pupils up to Common Entrance and, with some added material, to scholarship.
The Latin department is very keen to promote the study of the language through exciting new software packages (such as Latin Alive and Microsoft Ancient Lands) and Internet resources. Pupils also get the opportunity to learn grammar through a series of Excel spreadsheets developed in-house; this makes much of the traditional rote learning of grammar and vocabulary easier to bear!
All pupils take Latin for one year in Year 6, during which they learn to translate simple texts and discover the links between western European culture and between Latin and the European languages. Pupils also learn a great deal about grammatical structure in general, which will be very useful to them in learning other languages.
Those pupils who wish to continue with Latin in Year 7, and show an aptitude for it, continue to study the language for a further two years to Common Entrance.
Latin is a very important part of the scholarship examination in most schools, so all scholarship candidates at Holmewood take Latin. The standard required by some of the public schools we serve is very demanding, and this is why some children start Latin in Year 5.
Greek is offered as an option to scholarship candidates in their last three years. We find it complements the study of Latin, and our candidates are very much appreciated by schools like Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, from where many have gone on to read classical languages at Oxford and Cambridge.
There is a specialist classroom for Classics which has a collection of general interest books on Greece and Rome. PowerPoint presentations on a wide range of Classical topics are given to classes using a laptop and projector.
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