Lai'larni:
"I would like to thank everyone that funded this programme because it is amazing to learn a new language, especially when it's a hard one. Learning Latin has given me a better understanding of the English language and other languages, for example, Spanish. The subject will benefit me because I'm planning on being a doctor in the future and Latin has quite a bit to do with medicine. I will be choosing Latin for my GCSE because I like the fact that it's quite a challenging subject and not everybody can say they've learned Latin."
Nailaa:
"Classics this year has been really helpful for me. I have had the opportunity to study a subject that is intellectually demanding and incredibly interesting. It has helped me with many subjects, most notably with my English. Learning Latin has helped me with my grammar in English. I have also enjoyed learning how many words in the English language have come from Latin ones; learning about roots words has changed my way of thinking about etymology and has helped me to deduce unfamiliar words. Classics has also helped me in my History lessons. I have been fascinated by Roman history and studying about how the Roman Empire stretched to Britain, founding Londinium and bringing Latin culture and language with it.
I've particularly enjoyed the varied activities that we have done this year. The philosophy has been incredibly interesting, where we got to study some Aristotle and Plato. We learned about human irrationality and how Plato stated that democracy is only one step up from anarchy. This really challenged my way of thinking about modern-day governments. Outside of the classroom, we have been on three really interesting trips. I particularly enjoyed the trip to the Roman amphitheatre, where we actually found under the Guildhall the old foundations of the amphitheatre for London, where gladiators would have fought, slaves would have been executed and a third of the population of London at the time would have gathered.
Perhaps the most appealing thing for me now, going forward, is that we have now been given the opportunity to study a GCSE in Latin. This will be really challenging, but it will be an incredible advantage to have on a CV, and I will have an intellectual advantage over many students who have not been privileged enough to access classical education. And it's a privilege to be able to study, to read and to write Latin. I know it will be difficult, but the opportunity to study this is amazing and I very much look forward to starting in September."
