Latin, in particular, Latin Grammar is considered the best grounding in education and not just for English but learning as a whole, as many words used can be derived from Latin. Once a compulsory part of any education, today the number of GCSE Latin candidates hovers at just below the 10,000 mark and approximately 70% of these entries are from private schools.
It may be your child is excelling, struggling or just intrigued with Latin and because of this there are some questions to answer to ensure you choose the best teacher/tutor for your child’s need:
There are three examination boards accredited by Ofqual. These are:
AQA –One of the leading provider of GCSEs and A Levels. Used by most secondary schools and colleges in the UK.
Edexcel – Considered the UK’s largest awarding organisation, they offer both academic and vocational qualifications and testing to schools and colleges.
OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations) – Over 13,000 centres choose OCR for their A Levels and GCSEs.
GCSE – Latin GCSE involves 4 papers, two on language and two on literature.
AS (Advanced Subsidiary) and A (Advanced) qualifications will focus on more traditional study skills. They generally take two years to complete full-time, however they are also available to part-time.
Latin can been taken into many areas at degree level.
There is no minimum qualification required to tutor Latin at home in the UK at present, however we would recommend you ask to see copies of qualifications held.
A foundation in the Latin language can make the process of learning other languages easier, and quicker.
Boris Johnson (born 19 June 1964) British Conservative politician and current Mayor of London; studied classics at Balliol College, Oxford before starting his career in journalism and politics.
Author JK Rowling’s (born 31 July 1965) has a degree in Classics and French from Exeter University.
Singer Dido (born 25 December 1971) takes her stage-name from Virgil’s “Dido and Aeneas” in “The Aeneid”, and has an A Level in Latin.
Footballer Frank Lampard (born 20 June 1978) has a GCSE in Latin and even named his daughter “Luna”.
For the Love of Latin. Classical languages are in a decline – why should we learn them?
I was made to learn Latin from the age of 11 years old. I didn’t enjoy the classes at all because I couldn’t see the relevance of Latin to my life. Also we were usually taught by our very strict and rather ancient Headmistress who was passionate about Latin, and excellent at it, although perhaps not quite as good at making it accessible and fun. Like many subjects I learnt at school, it is only now, as an adult, that I have come to appreciate the advantages of a basic knowledge of Latin. I enjoy spotting the origins of our words and now realise that Latin has given me a solid educational foundation on which to build.