Latin

Rooks Heath consistently strives to improve the opportunities for all students, bringing them in par with students that come from selective schools. This is demonstrated through our longstanding commitment to offering the ancient languages to all students. Since 1974, Rooks Heath has offered Latin to students as we understand it’s value and purpose. The WJEC Eduqas GCSE in Latin aims to provide a foundation in linguistic and cultural competence, enabling students to gain knowledge and understanding of the Roman world through reading and responding to its language and literature. Alongside our department-made resources for the literature and civilisation components of the exam, we continue to use the textbook, Suburani, for language acquisition. Through using this textbook, the curriculum is inclusive and diverse (includes characters of different ethnicities which provides students with a sense of belonging), broad (allows students to study the civilisations from across the Roman Empire and characters with various status’) and ambitious (the textbook allows us to explore some complex grammar rules earlier, with more challenging sentence structure). By exploring the ancient world through both its language and civilisation, we provide students with the cultural capital needed to succeed. 

The examination at the end of Year 11 consists of:  

• A language exam (50% of the qualification) 
• A themed literature exam (30% of the qualification. Theme: Love and Marriage) 
• A civilisation exam (20% of the qualification. Topic: City of Rome) 

In particular, this curriculum enables students to:  

• develop and deploy their knowledge of vocabulary, morphology and syntax in order to read, understand and interpret straightforward Latin  
• develop their knowledge and understanding of Latin literature and its associated values and society through the study of original texts, adapted and abridged as appropriate  
• select, analyse and evaluate evidence to draw informed conclusions from the literature studied
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical, literary and cultural context of a text
• identify and appreciate its literary form and impact on the reader  
• develop and apply their critical, analytical and reflective skills to evaluate evidence from a range of sources  
• develop insights into the relevance of the Latin language, its literature and Roman culture to the modern world.  

It also encourages students to:  

• deploy their knowledge and understanding of the ancient language to deepen their understanding of English and other languages  
• relate their knowledge and understanding of the ancient world to other disciplines  
• develop research and analytical skills which will empower them to become resilient independent students and enquirers, equipping them for further study in arts, humanities and sciences. These skills will also benefit students for further employment

Resources: Suburani textbook and online vocabulary trainer for language; teacher-made resources for literature and civilisation.

Ancient Greek

Rooks Heath is a school which understands and values the ancient world and the ancient languages. We encourage and foster a love of the ancient world within our students, especially those who have studied Latin in Key Stage 3. For those students who have a desire to challenge themselves or have a passion for Classics, we also offer Ancient Greek at GCSE and A-Level. We are very proud of this provision, which is one of the largest (if not the largest) in a state school of our kind.

The OCR GCSE in Ancient Greek aims to help students develop their understanding of the Classical Greek language and to gain knowledge and understanding of the Greek world through reading and responding to its language and literature. By exploring the ancient world through both its language and literature, we provide students with the cultural capital needed to succeed. 

The examination at the end of Year 11 consists of:  

• A Language exam (50% of the qualification) 
• A literature exam (25% of the qualification. Text: Euripides, Medea) 
• A civilisation exam (25% of the qualification. Topic: Women in Ancient Greece and Athenian Society)

In particular, this curriculum enables students to:  

• develop and deploy their knowledge of vocabulary, morphology and syntax in order to read, understand and interpret Ancient Greek  
• develop their knowledge and understanding of Ancient Greek literature and its associated values and society through the study of original texts, adapted and abridged as appropriate  
• select, analyse and evaluate evidence to draw informed conclusions from the literature studied
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical, literary and cultural context of a text and identify and appreciate its literary form and impact on the reader  
• develop and apply their critical, analytical and reflective skills to evaluate evidence from a range of sources  
• develop insights into the relevance of the Ancient Greek language, its literature and Ancient Greek culture to the modern world.  

It also encourages students to:  

• deploy their knowledge and understanding of the ancient language to deepen their understanding of English and other languages  
• relate their knowledge and understanding of the ancient world to other disciplines  
• develop research and analytical skills which will empower them to become resilient independent students and enquirers, equipping them for further study in arts, humanities and sciences. These skills will also benefit students for further employment.

Resources: John Taylor Greek to GCSE (JT); teacher-made resources for literature and civilisation; Memrise for vocabulary.