Cambridge School Classics Project Blog

Last year CSCP’s Caroline Musgrove met with Lottie Mortimer to chat about history pedagogy for the Classics classroom and Lottie’s work on the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course. In this interview, Lottie discusses best practice in history teaching, what makes a good enquiry question and why it all matters, not just for schools but for the polarised and data driven world we live in today.

Are you looking for new ways to engage your students in Latin or the ancient world? Taking a trip to an ancient schoolroom might be just the thing! In this post, Professor Eleanor Dickey explains how the Reading Ancient Schoolroom came about, discusses the activities on offer and the historical evidence upon which they are based.

How is the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course being received by students in the Latin classroom? In this post, Joanna Johnson, Head of Classics at Solihull School, shares her first impressions of the new textbook, and some of her students' most interesting reactions!

What is a sensitivity reading, and how is it done? In this post, Pria Jackson reflects on her EDI work for the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course, and on what the process can bring to our classrooms and our representations of the ancient world.

From accessible cultural background sections to more human stories, Elizabeth Hayes, Curriculum Lead Tutor at the University of Sussex, shares some first impressions of the new CLC 5th edition, Book II.

In this post, Director Caroline Bristow explores how the CLC's carefully constructed linguistic plan has been adapted to respond to ever tighter teaching schedules and exam pressures.

The artifex Clara will replace Celer in the new Cambridge Latin Course. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow describes the research that shaped Clara's representation in the new UK and International edition and the evidence for working women in the ancient world.

The household of Caecilius has gained a daughter in the new UK and International edition of the Cambridge Latin Course. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow introduces Lucia and explores the surviving evidence for the lives of girls like her in the Roman world.

The character Barbillus has made his way to Book I in the new UK and International edition. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow introduces the history behind the character and the evidence we used to better capture his Greco-Syrian-Egyptian heritage. 

From Quintus' little sister to the introduction of Barbillus as amīcus in Book I, there's lots to look forward to in the new edition. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow reflects on the narrative that students and teachers love and the changes you can expect from the new UK and International edition.

If you’ve ever used the Cambridge Latin Course eLearning DVD, chances are the faces of Tim Clark, Clare-Marie Roxby and Ed Noy-Scott are familiar. Better known as Caecilius, Metella and Grumio, they were teaching at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle in the early 2000s when the ancillary videos were made. CSCP’s Caroline Musgrove spoke with them about their rise to CLC stardom.

What’s in a name? As part of our series CLC: Past and Present, Anna Barker considers some discussions we could have in the classroom on characters’ names, and what they can tell us about the Roman world.

Can the CLC be read as an epic? In this post, part of our CLC: Past and Present series, Anna Barker finds some Virgilian echoes in the narrative of Quintus.

As part of our series CLC: Past and Present, Anna Barker reflects on the nature of the CLC as a continuous narrative which students follow throughout their school careers.

As part of our series on the CLC: Past and Present, Anna Karsten reflects on the role her father, David Karsten, played in the early history of the Cambridge Latin Course and the reasons the CLC continues to be much loved in the Classics classroom today.

CSCP is delighted to have launched its new KS3 History project Amarantus and his neighbourhood. In these short videos Director Caroline Bristow explains how to use the new materials and introduces the newest member of the CSCP familia.

How do we teach Greek and Roman culture in a rigorous and systematic way that honors the complexity and diversity of the peoples that inhabited the Ancient Mediterranean? In this piece, Evan Dutmer provides teachers with a simple framing tool that will help them to teach culture on both its surface and deeper levels.

With time at a premium in school, it can be difficult to cover everything in the depth we would like. In this post, Darren Lester considers how Classics can be used to enforce curriculum aims in Religious Education, Physical Education, Design and Technology, Geography, Music and Drama.

Whether you are planning a school trip or exploring remotely from your Latin classroom, there are plenty of resources available to help you teach Roman Britain. In our first Hints and Tips post, Alexander Carroll shares a few of his favourites.

Pat Story, CSCP’s second director, reflects on the life of Robin Griffin, who played a crucial role in the development of the Cambridge Latin Course.

Working towards inclusivity in the Classics classroom is a combination of what we choose to teach and how we choose to teach it. In this post, Rob Hancock-Jones shares some of his experiences teaching Classical Civilisation making use of diverse and inclusive visual aids.

Following the success of 'What Have the Classics Ever Done for Me?', Communicator Ltd interviewed Dr Mai Musié about her extraordinary Classics journey, how she came to study Classics and what the subject means to her. This work was sponsored by ourselves, the Classical Association and the Roman and Hellenic societies.

CSCP recently had the pleasure of collaborating with Communicator Ltd to produce What Have the Classics Ever Done For Me?, a short video which aims to dispel the worries of students (and their parents!) about the value of Classics-related subjects and their associated career prospects. This work was sponsored by us, the Classical Association and the Roman and Hellenic societies.

In response to those who may think otherwise, Elena Giusti argues that the application of Race Theory and Critical Race Theory to the ancient world is far from a needless intellectual exercise. It enables teachers and students to connect antiquity and modernity while investigating our own biases and making us better interpreters of both societies, and of our own academic and pedagogical practices.

In the first of our "Scholarship for the Classroom" pieces, Caroline Bristow looks at how 2018's BAME Medea production in Oxford can be used as a piece of scholarship for A Level Classical Civilisation, and provides links to the resources and discussion surrounding it.

Why do some stories survive thousands of years while others are quickly lost? Many factors affect an ancient text's chances of survival, but most important is power. If we understand how texts have survived with the aid of each generation's most empowered, can we then predict which modern classics will survive?

Diversifying the teaching provision of Classics and Ancient History does not necessarily help us to ‘decolonise’ the discipline and engage in anti-racist pedagogical practice. Dr Elena Giusti reflects on her undergraduate module 'Africa and the Making of Classical Literature' at the University of Warwick.

Discussions have erupted across the Latin teaching community about race and representation in our portrayal of Ancient Rome. Should teachers prioritize equitable representation or historical accuracy? Perhaps these goals are not mutually exclusive.