All LGS pupils have three periods of Latin and Classical Civilisation each week. We study Stages 1–10 of the Cambridge Latin Course, following the stories of Caecilius, a real Pompeian, and his familia in the Roman city of Pompeii.

Language and civilisation are taught together. As pupils read increasingly substantial Latin, they also explore Pompeii and Roman society through literary, visual and archaeological evidence. In the process, they develop a secure knowledge of Latin vocabulary and grammar alongside habits of careful reading and accurate translation.

Pupils continue with three periods of Latin and Classical Civilisation each week, studying Stages 11–17 of the Cambridge Latin Course. The narrative moves from Pompeii to Roman Britain and then to Alexandria, the great Greek-speaking city of Roman Egypt. Alongside this expanding picture of the Roman world, pupils develop a fuller command of Latin vocabulary, grammar and syntax.

After the summer examinations, a short ‘Greek Week’ explores the evolution of alphabetic writing and gives pupils their first direct encounter with Classical Greek.

In Year 9, Latin and Classical Civilisation become distinct optional subjects for the first time. Each is taught for three periods per week, and pupils may choose one or both.

Latin continues the Cambridge Latin Course through Alexandria and Roman Britain. The emphasis is now predominantly linguistic: pupils develop a much fuller command of Latin grammar and syntax and become increasingly accurate, confident and independent translators. Year 9 Latin is the required route into GCSE Latin at LGS.

Classical Civilisation gives pupils a sustained study of Greek history, society, literature and thought. Topics include Athens and Sparta, politics and warfare, slavery and the lives of women, Homeric epic and Greek religion. Pupils work with ancient literature, art, archaeology and other evidence, learning to analyse sources, weigh different interpretations and construct persuasive arguments. Its methods and subject matter lead directly into GCSE Classical Civilisation.

Classical Greek is available as a separate option for four periods per week. Pupils begin as complete beginners but progress rapidly from first principles to reading connected Greek for themselves. Language work is accompanied by stories and passages drawn from epic, history, fables and philosophy. The subject is usually chosen by pupils who have particularly enjoyed Latin or their study of the ancient world and want to encounter Greek civilisation through its own language. Year 9 Greek is the required route into GCSE Classical Greek at LGS.

At LGS we offer Classical Civilisation, Latin and Classical Greek at GCSE, and pupils may take more than one classical subject.

Classical Civilisation (OCR J199) examines Greek and Roman societies through literature, history, archaeology, art and material culture. Pupils study Women in the Ancient World and War and Warfare. These range across Greek and Roman experience, from Athens and Sparta to Cleopatra and the Roman army, and from Homeric heroes to the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis and Actium. Pupils learn to handle very different kinds of ancient evidence, test interpretations against that evidence and build convincing arguments of their own.

Latin (OCR J282) combines substantial language study with direct engagement with Roman literature. Half of the GCSE develops the vocabulary, grammar and linguistic judgement needed to translate unseen Latin accurately and confidently. The other half is devoted to prose and verse literature in the original Latin, where pupils analyse how Roman authors use language to create effects, construct arguments and present characters and events.

Classical Greek (OCR J292) similarly combines language and literature. Pupils consolidate a language begun only in Year 9 until they can tackle substantial unseen passages and read Greek prose and verse in the original. Set texts vary, but may draw on authors such as Herodotus, Homer and Euripides, giving pupils first-hand access to some of the most influential surviving writing of the ancient world.

Classical Civilisation, Latin and Classical Greek are all available in the Sixth Form.

Classical Civilisation (OCR H408) combines the study of ancient epic with broader work on Greek and Roman culture, society and ideas. At the heart of the course is The World of the Hero, in which students study a Homeric epic such as the Odyssey alongside Virgil’s Aeneid, exploring heroism, war, mortality, the gods and the societies which produced these works. Other components bring together literary, historical, visual and material evidence to investigate ancient culture, identity, religion and thought.

At A Level, students are expected not simply to know the evidence but to interrogate it: to question interpretations, recognise tensions and contradictions, and develop sustained arguments about societies which were every bit as complex as our own. No prior study of Classical Civilisation is required, and many students begin the subject for the first time in the Sixth Form.

Latin (OCR H443) develops the language and literary study begun at GCSE to a much higher level. Students translate demanding unseen prose and verse and study substantial selections from major Roman authors in the original Latin, which may include writers such as Cicero, Tacitus, Ovid, Virgil, Horace and Juvenal.

The course comprises unseen translation, comprehension or prose composition, prose literature and verse literature. At this level, translation becomes an exercise in judgement as much as knowledge: students must hold complex structures in mind, test possibilities and choose precise English. Literary study asks them to read with equal care, analysing how some of Rome’s finest writers treat politics, power, love, morality and human experience.

Classical Greek (OCR H444) develops an advanced command of Greek alongside the study of major works of ancient literature in their original language. The course comprises unseen translation, comprehension or prose composition, prose literature and verse literature, with students encountering writers from genres including history, philosophy, tragedy, comedy and epic.

Students move constantly between the detail of individual words and grammatical structures and much larger questions of history, politics, philosophy, literature and human behaviour. Authors may include Herodotus, Plato and Homer alongside the great tragedians and comic playwrights.

Classics at LGS extends beyond the timetable through lectures, competitions, clubs and visits. Students have been successful in a range of national competitions, including those organised by Oxford and Cambridge, while Sixth Form students also help to run a Classics Club for younger pupils in the Prep.

Trips support and extend classroom study. Recent visits have included the British Museum and Bloomsbury Theatre in London, the Ashmolean Museum and theatrical performances in Oxford, the Cast Gallery and Greek Play at Cambridge University, and productions at the Curve in Leicester.

Year 8 pupils take part in an annual two-night residential visit to Hadrian’s Wall, encountering the archaeology and landscape of Roman Britain at first hand. The department also runs a residential visit to classical sites in Greece or Italy every two years.