Classics

The Classics Department is flourishing at Barnard Castle School. All branches of Classics are catered for. Pupils in Years 7-9 study either Latin or non linguistic classes for two periods a week. Latinists follow the Cambridge Latin Course, whereas other pupils take a course in Greek Myths and Legends (Year 7), Greek Civilisation (Year 8) or Roman Civilisation (Year 9).

At GCSE level, Clasics become optional, but both Ancient History and Latin GCSEs prove popular options, our results being outstanding in both subjects.

At ‘A’ level we offer both Latin and Classics and both are popular options. Several students each year go on to study Classical subjects at Universities.

Classical Greek is offered to keen and dedicated Classicists in activity time after school and two of our students succesfully passed GCSE Classical Greek with top grades in 2010 and 2011.

The department runs many successful field trips, to local sites and Hadrian’s Wall as well as more ambitious trips . In 2009 we undertook a tour of Classical Greece with over forty pupils from GCSE and A level years, and in 2011 we ran a successful and enjoyable trip to Rome and the Bay of Naples, the fifth such trip we have offered since 1999.

The department has won five national awards for its A level teaching in the last three years from the Good Schools' Guide. (www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk) These are awarded for the following criteria: popularity of Classics and Ancient History in comparison to other schools who offer it, and performance in the subject by our pupils in comparison to their other A level subjects. We are delighted that Classics remains a popular option at the school and that our pupils perform so well.