Access and Outreach at the Classics Faculty
Virtual Classics with Cambridge: School Sessions.
This part of the programme is especially for state school teachers and their students. If you feel inspired by one of our videos and would like your students to find out more and discuss their ideas with a Cambridge Classics Academic all you need to do is complete this short form.
Our Access & Outreach Team will match your needs with a Cambridge academic, and arrange for a member of the faculty to deliver an online lecture and Q&A session to your students via Zoom or Google Meets. The session does not need to be tied to the videos from our website at all, however they can be useful to get your students thinking about questions they might want to ask before the talk.
Come, See, Be Inspired: Experience Classics at Cambridge and Visiting the Faculty
A generous donation enables us to invite you to be part of a new initiative addressed to Schools in the maintained sector.
We are keen to bring students to Cambridge, for a 'taster day' to experience what studying the ancient Greek and Roman worlds at university level involves. This includes students who are not currently studying Classical Civilization, Ancient History, or the ancient languages, but are interested in the possibility of doing so.
If you're interested in visiting the Faculty with your school, please get in touch. We are very happy to arrange a visit to the Faculty's Museum of Classical Archaeology, and to discuss the possibility of a talk with a Cambridge academic and to advise on a visit to one of the Colleges. Please contact access@classics.cam.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.
Study Days and Open Days
The Faculty participates in a number of activities for schools, such as Oxbridge Classics Open Days, University Open Days, Taster Days in Latin and Classics, AS and A Level Study Days, and College Open Days. Most of these are completely free to attend.
Please click here for details.
Classical Civilisation INSET for Teachers
The Faculty is committed to encouraging the teaching of Classical Civilisation and Ancient History as well as the ancient languages in schools. We run an annual training event for teachers (both specialists and non-specialists). This includes opportunities to hear from Cambridge experts on subject content, as well as dedicated sessions from experienced teachers on teaching practice, the practicalities of setting up Classical Civilisation in your school, and teaching the subject as a non-specialist.
Cambridge Competitions
Faculty Competitons
The Faculty runs several competitions throughout the year, including an annual audiovisual competition. This is currently closed but you can see the winning entries of our last round here
Essay Competitions
Several Cambridge colleges run essay competitions related to Classics, for students in year 12. Whether you are planning to apply to Cambridge or not, we encourage you to get involved.
Resources for Learning
Videos and Recorded Lectures
View our School Resources pages on Greeks, Romans and Us for a range of videos, categorised in relevant categories. They are aimed broadly at teachers and students with an interest in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds and are not restricted to those currently studying the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Wherever possible we emphasize curriculum links to a wide range of subjects, showcasing their relevance to broader areas of study (English, Politics, Maths, Linguistics, Art History, Religious Studies).
AS and A Level Set-Text Commentaries
If you are studying Latin in Years 12 and 13 and want to get some ‘university tuition’ on your set texts, check out the following commentaries on Cicero, Tacitus, and Virgil, using the links below. They are all published by Cambridge-based Open Book Publishers and available free to read online via their website and on Google Books:
- Cicero, Against Verres, 2.1.53–86. Latin Text with Introduction, Study Questions, Commentary and English Translation
- Tacitus, Annals, 15.20-23, 33-45. Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary
- Virgil, Aeneid, 4.1–299. Latin Text, Study Questions, Commentary and Interpretative Essays
If you have comments or feedback that you would like to share with the authors, please email Ingo Gildenhard at ig297@cam.ac.uk.
The Greeks, The Romans & Us
The Faculty also provides a dedicated Outreach website aimed at school-age students, www.greeksromansus.classics.cam.ac.uk. This contains a collection of short videos, articles, and blogposts about Classical topics and about studying classics at university. We are also on social media at:
Facebook: The Greeks, The Romans & Us
Twitter: @CamClassics
Instagram: @ClassicsAtCambridge
Khameleon Diverse Classics Podcast
We have partnered with Khameleon Prductions to bring you some exciting podcasts about diversity in Classics.
Here are our top picks of the podcast so far:
Listen to "Staging Medea: Then and Now, with Oliver Taplin" on Spreaker.
Listen to "Race in Antiquity, with Denise McCoskey" on Spreaker.
For more information on Khameleon Productions check them out here
Cambridge School Classics Project
Cambridge is also the home of the Cambridge School Classics Project, which aims to make the classical world accessible to as many students as possible and offers superb resources and opportunities for anybody teaching classics in schools. For their website click here.
Journals
Omnibus
Many Cambridge classicists write not only for fellow scholars but also for the general public. They are among the editors and frequent contributors to Omnibus, the journal produced twice a year by the Classical Association and aimed at sixth-formers. Every issue contains a dozen or so short articles on aspects of Classics, written by those who teach in universities. It is available for the cost of postage, see:
http://www.classicalassociation.org/teaching.html
The Journal of Classics Teaching
The Journal of Classics Teaching stands in a long line of previous journals, reviews, newsletters and bulletins which have investigated, reported and evaluated the teaching of classical subjects in schools and universities in the UK and abroad. JCT has its origins in Latin Teaching, the journal of the Association for the Reform of Latin Teaching (now Association for Latin Teaching), developing from there through Didaskalos, the journal of the Joint Association of Classical Teachers, and Hesperiam, The JACT Review and The JACT Bulletin. JCT aims to describe events and practices in classics teaching which are much more than just of interest to teachers in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. We intend to make it a journal which is influential through the discussion and dissemination of successful pedagogical approaches, and in which arguments are grounded in hard data and observed phenomena in and out of the classics classroom. We invite contributors from abroad as well as from the UK, as we believe that the best ideas about the teaching of classical subjects flourish as a result of the cross-fertilisation of experience from different educational programmes across the world. We look for pieces which reflect the experiences of teachers at all levels. Finally, we will continue to report on significant events in the world of classics teaching: JCT will still be the teachers’ ‘parish noticeboard’ and reviews of books and other resources, including ICT and film, which can be used in the classroom, will continue to appear.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-classics-teaching
Recommended Reading List
The Faculty often receives requests for what reading we would recommend to anyone interested in studying Classics. Our online book list offers insight into all areas of classical study, and includes many books written by academics here in Cambridge.
External Summer Schools
There are a number of excellent summer schools for learning Greek and Latin (further details of what is on offer can be found on the JACT website). Among these is the Bryanston Greek Summer School.
The JACT Greek Summer School takes place at Bryanston School in Dorset in July/August. Applications open in late January and the closing date is 31st March. The summer school provides two weeks of intensive tuition in Ancient Greek for students aged between 16 and 25 at all levels from complete beginners to those studying for A-level.
Tutors on the course are experienced teachers from schools and universities around the UK. The course also offers opportunities to attend lectures and seminars on a wide range of topics relating to Ancient Greece, as well as two dramatic productions. It is a fantastic way to get a taste of what it would be like to study Classics at university and can be especially valuable for students who are at schools where there are not many others with whom they can share their passion for Classics. If the summer school is over-subscribed, priority goes to beginners and intermediate students.
Please refer to the website for full details, including how to apply for financial support. We aim to provide bursaries to ensure that all those who would benefit from the course are able to attend, regardless of their financial circumstances.