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I know many of you may ask where your money goes when you donate to Classics for All. This is the year we increased our Grants and Programme Director’s time because of the growing scope of our programme. We are supplementing this further through the development of regional classics hubs in order to give us a strong local presence.
There are tremendous pressures on school budgets and we are finding creative ways to add value to the grants that we make. For example, we are increasingly making use of experienced volunteer classicists who are helping us kick-start the teaching of Latin and Greek in schools. Working in partnership with independent schools is also an area of emerging interest for us; although we won’t fund independent schools it is clear we can make use of their support to mentor and train state school teachers as part of their charitable benefit.
Through developing such strategies we are confident that our programme offers value for money: training a primary teacher to teach Latin can cost as little as £1,000.
A key to our continued success will be finding more regional funding for our classics hubs across the UK. These now number 12 and are located in Blackpool, Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol, Durham, Exeter, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Norwich, Newcastle Upon Tyne and Wales. Later this year we are also launching new hubs in Scotland and Leeds. We already have donors supporting our hub work in Liverpool and Birmingham, but need some more. It would be fantastic to see our regional classics hubs sustained for a few years with modest contributions from local donors, and a corporate sponsor, enabling them to thrive and grow in the longer term.
Geoffrey de Jager
Chairman
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All of us at Classics for All would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the past year, enriching the education of pupils in our state schools through Classics. We could not do it without you! We devised a number of recognition categories, naming them from the Classical world, and have added two more since last year: Tribunes and Quaestors. The full list is: Centurions £100+, Tribunes £300+, Praetorians £1,000+, Quaestors £3,600+, Senators £5,000+, Consuls £10,000+, Heroes £50,000+ and Olympians £100,000+. Whatever your level of support, you have contributed to a growing momentum of change in the landscape of Classics in state schools.
To view the Donor Recognition List 2016-17, click here.
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My name is Ed and I’m volunteering with Classics for All before I go to study Classics at Cambridge. On 8th June, I visited Greig City Academy and had the chance to interview Adrian, a multilingual Year 9 student from Romania, about the value of learning Latin and studying classical culture more broadly.
Adrian was introduced to Latin by Charlie Andrew through her Classics Club at the school and is now working towards his Latin GCSE. He said he was originally drawn to Classics Club because he is “interested in the past and how so many languages come from Latin”. We went on to discuss the legacy of the ancient world – he is interested in classical architecture, the effects of which we agreed are so ubiquitous now as to be almost imperceptible, and he expressed his admiration for the way in which “so many ancient buildings still stand today, so many years later”.
To read the rest of the interview, click here.
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It has been a busy three months and we welcome the persistent level of interest from primary and secondary schools across the UK in engaging with Classics in the curriculum.
In May we were very pleased to be invited to run a two day introductory Classics course in Grantham for the National Union of Teachers (NUT) which attracted 20 primary school teachers from across the country. The fast-paced two -day course was run by Charlotte Andrew from Greig City Academy in North London and Sue Balmer, a primary Latin expert. It included an introduction to the primary Latin course Minimus and Maximum Classics, a new online course that covers beginners’ Latin as well as entertaining insights into other aspects of the classical world including Gods, Roman cookery and classical art. On the second day, there was a guest appearance from Paul O’Mahony from Kallos Gallery who demonstrated how to animate stories from the Odyssey through drama. Early feedback suggests that the course was a huge success and we are looking forward to offering teachers further support to ensure that Classics are embedded in their classrooms.
We are very grateful to the NUT for the opportunity to bring Classics to a wider audience and are committed to developing other partnerships which help to raise profile and embed regional activity.
Work continues on developing Classics for All’s regional hubs, which are often run in partnership with major universities; these offer regional advice, training and networking opportunities for schools that is helping to extend our impact. Most recently, we have started to establish a hub in Scotland backed by the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews, language associations, local authorities, and the Scottish Classical Association. This is a particularly welcome development in light of the challenges that have affected take-up of classical subjects in Scottish state schools over the last twenty years. One of the first priorities will be to work with the Scottish Association of Language Teachers (SALT) and SCILT (Scotland’s National Centre for Languages) to encourage the introduction of Classics in primary schools as part of the Curriculum for Excellence.
Another strand of recent activity has been the cultivation of stronger links with independent schools across the UK. Whilst our focus remains firmly on kick-starting Classics in the state sector, we acknowledge the enormous contribution that independent schools can make to this mission as part of their charitable benefit. In April, we ran our first independent state partnership day with St Paul’s Junior School in London, which offered local state primary schools an introduction to Classics.
Last but not least, we are delighted to announce the launch of Electra, our new programme which aims to promote the teaching of Ancient Greek in state schools. This programme, funded by the A.G. Leventis Foundation, has attracted considerable interest but we are still keen to hear from any state schools that are interested in a new classical adventure.
For further details outlining the types of projects we fund, please visit our website at classicsforall.org.uk/get-involved/schools/application-forms/.
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In the first tranche of 2017, we awarded grants to 17 projects with a further 14 grants awarded since March 2017. These range from top-up grants to well established projects such as thriving Bristol Classics Hub, to grants for introducing Mythology onto the year 7 English Curriculum at Kings' College Guildford.
Click here to see the full list of grants awarded since March 2017.
We are also pleased to share our new grants leaflet which you can view here and the fantastic artwork to go alongside it.
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This year’s joint Classics for All and Classical Association roundtable at the annual Classical Association conference in Canterbury took as its theme University ‘outreach’ projects and the best ways to harness the efforts of University Classics departments to support Classics in Schools. The session began with an introduction by Tom Harrison, CfA trustee, on his two decades of experience of University outreach – of what works and what doesn’t – before turning to the successful models of the Bristol and Manchester CfA hubs, with presentations by Hannah Walsh and Jessica Coatesworth respectively, and to a lively general discussion chaired by Kathryn Tempest of Roehampton.
The emphasis was strongly on the need for University departments to focus their contributions. Rather than dissipating their energies on too many individual schools visits, it was suggested that the same time might be better spent in wider schools conferences, or in supporting teachers - whether through the development of resources, through CPD courses for teachers, or through local CfA hubs. It was crucial also for University departments to be clear on what they were aiming to achieve through these activities. (If one tried to run an event for schools to train teachers, recruit more students to one’s own degree programmes, and prove the impact of the research of Professor X, it seemed likely that it might not satisfactorily achieve any of these objectives!) And it was vital that the efforts of University departments should continue to be coordinated: in the case of CPD, by Peter Liddel and the Classical Association Teaching Board in England, and in Scotland by the Classical Association of Scotland.
All in all, the session was a useful opportunity both to showcase some of the work of CfA projects to colleagues from schools and universities – and to share experiences of different models of outreach. For Hilary Hodgson, CfA’s Grants and Programme Director, it was also a useful chance to meet some more potential hub coordinators!
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We are delighted to let you know that Professor Richard Jenkyns has agreed to become a Patron of CfA. Richard Jenkyns is emeritus Professor of the Classical Tradition and recently retired as Public Orator at the University of Oxford. At our dinner in January at the Reform Club Richard spoke passionately and wittily about the importance of Classics in education and we know that he will be an excellent Patron and supporter.
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Thank you so much for supporting Classics for All. Your donations have made it possible to support the schools we have reached, giving their pupils the opportunity to study classical subjects and their teachers the opportunity to teach them.
Some of the best proponents of our work are the pupils themselves. At Bishop Thomas Grant School (Streatham) a Year 10 pupil recently argued that “in subjects such as Maths and Physics where calculations involving Greek letters are needed, my knowledge of Greek makes it easier to remember what the letters in the formulae stand for”. A Year 8 Pupil who studies Latin at St Gabriel’s College (Lambeth) has told us “I think that Latin has changed my mindset and has also made me more confident in sharing my answers in other classes”.
This edition of our newsletter celebrates our supporters with our annual donor recognition list. We now have over 200 Centurions supporting our campaign to champion Classics in state schools by giving us £100+ a year. In a new category, we have 26 Tribunes giving £300+ a year. You will also see nearly 30 Praetorians giving over £1,000 a year, followed by our new category of Quaestors, of which there is 1 intrepid donor giving us £300/month (£3,600+ per year). We have five Senators giving £5,000+ and our Consuls have tripled this year, with 11 giving £10,000+ a year to Classics for All’s programme. I’d like to thank our Hero this year, Geoffrey de Jager, who has contributed by hosting our fundraising dinners as well as donating to our work.
Every so often we have benefited from the largesse of others who have held events (or memorials) and donated the takings to Classics for All. Most recently the Classics Department of St Gabriel's School in Berkshire hosted a talk on The Poetry of Pop: was ancient drama the rock music of its era? This ground-breaking occasion, fusing high academia and cutting edge cool, featured Simon Gallup and Roger O'Donnell of iconic band The Cure speaking on the modern perspective, with Dr. Henry Stead, author of 'A Cockney Catullus' giving the Classical angle. A lively debate ensued, with topics ranging from the mania of Greek theatre, rebellion in modern music and the overarching themes of love and death that encompass much of life and art.
Jules Mann, Executive Director
Telephone (mobile): 07809 256839
E-mail: jules@classicsforall.org.uk
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Cavendish Community Primary School is a vibrant and diverse 3 form entry primary school in south Manchester. Almost a third of our children are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average. The number of children who don’t speak English as a first language is also around a third, well above the national average. We have a reputation for doing things slightly differently here and we are constantly on the look-out for ways in which we can enhance the children’s learning, so when a chance conversation about Latin took place between Prof. Langslow and a member of the Cavendish staff we thought, ‘Let’s give it a go!’
We chose to introduce the project to our Year 4 classes, because they already study The Romans as part of their curriculum which naturally linked to Latin. With the support of Classics for All, we have been running lunchtime Latin classes to groups of 15 children at a time. These are led by Amy Dakin, a Classics student from Manchester University, and I sit in on the sessions to offer extra support to the children and to learn alongside them. In this way, the project becomes sustainable. We are using the Minimus materials, which are child-friendly and fun.
It has been an absolute joy to see the children develop confidence in reading and translating the short Latin texts we use. It’s fabulous to see them applying their knowledge of English grammar to identify similarities and differences between the structures of English and Latin. They are also becoming great little language detectives who take great pleasure in spotting the Latin roots to English words. Because so many of our pupils speak languages other than English, we also get lots of excited chatter about the links between Latin and their own home languages such as French, Spanish, Italian and Romanian. Aspects of language such as gender and accents don’t faze them either because we already teach French at KS2, so there is clearly a lot of consolidated learning going on too. We believe that we should do all we can to encourage children to love learning languages – that way, the world opens up to them for both work and pleasure.
However, perhaps the best validation of the project comes from the children themselves, click here for an interview from Sonia, Sam and Aslan.
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Our LinkedIn page is now up and running! To stay up to date with any professional opportunities including events, lectures, CPD training and more, follow us here.
Don't forget, we're also on Facebook and Twitter too.
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It makes such a difference when we can count on your donation year after year, so consider a direct debit or pledge for annual giving. Whatever your level of support, it is very welcome. Your money is being put to excellent use, and provides an ever stronger platform on which to recruit many more donors all the way from Centurions to Olympians.
It’s easy to make a secure donation online, or post a cheque to Classics for All, 51 Achilles Road, London NW6 1DZ.
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Trustees
Nicholas Barber CBE, Hon President; Geoffrey de Jager, Chairman; Christopher A Clarke, Hon Treasurer; Jeannie Cohen, Hon Secretary; Carolyn Foreman; Professor Thomas Harrison; Deborah Hughes; Sarah Jackson OBE; Professor David Langslow.
Advisers, Staff and Support
Adviser Dr Peter Jones
Executive Director Jules Mann
Grants and Programme Director Hilary Hodgson
Administrator Moa Taylor Hodin
Grants Monitoring James Murray
Patrons
Professor Mary Beard OBE; Lord Butler of Brockwell; Professor Paul Cartledge; Lord Dyson; Professor Pat Easterling; Sir Michael Fallon MP; Lord Faulkner of Worcester; Tony Harrison; Natalie Haynes; Charlotte Higgins; Ian Hislop; Tom Holland; Bettany Hughes; Professor Richard Jenkyns; Boris Johnson; Martha Kearney; Joanna Lumley OBE FRGS; Stuart Lyons CBE; Professor Christopher Pelling; Lord Stevenson of Coddenham CBE; Sir Tom Stoppard CBE.
See also: Development Committee, Lawyers Group Steering Committee and CfA Event Planning Group members
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Classics for All is a Registered Charity (Number 1135379) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (Number 7182949)
Registered in England and Wales
Contact General: Telephone: 07809 256839
Email: contact@classicsforall.org.uk
www.classicsforall.org.uk
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