The Parkside Latin programme offers students the chance to learn about the culture and history of Rome as well as the Latin language. We use the de Romanis coursebook, in which each chapter is focused on a different theme. Students start Chapter 1 in Y7 with material on the Classical Olympian gods, progress through chapters on Roman heroes and religion and then move into a more linear study of Roman History from Chapter 7 onwards in Y9.
The Latin course offers students the chance to build a clear understanding of the structures of language (including parts of speech, labels for different tenses and the grammatical structure of a sentence); this provides strong foundations for their work in other languages. Through the culture and context work they learn to reflect on the beginnings of Western civilization and explore how values have changed (or lasted) over time.
Students who choose to continue with Latin through to Y11 will be entered for Latin GCSE. We use the OCR syllabus: this is built around a 50:50 split between language skills and students’ ability to read and respond to original Latin texts (prepared in class and then assessed in the GCSE exam).
For more information please contact Ms Radice at katharine.radice@parksidecc.org.uk
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