Were you to cast your eye over the prospectus of any independent school, you would be hard pressed not to find a section focusing on ‘community service’. Some schools will refer to it as ‘outreach work’; others will write about ‘partnerships’: language notwithstanding, these institutions are placing an ever-greater onus on the work that they complete in their local community. Schools will write about how they encourage their students to involve themselves in social action: they are given the opportunity to engage with and support the community around them, whether through befriending pensioners, helping youth groups, or educational volunteering (to take a few examples).
Many schools will run programmes in local state-maintained schools, be they primary or secondary; often teachers or sixth-form students will visit these schools to provide teaching in subjects like Maths or English. A number of schools will even be able to co-ordinate a similar programme for classical subjects, often teaching Latin in primary schools through the Minimus Latin course.
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved enormously disruptive for many of these initiatives, and particularly those programmes that were based in local schools. The normal interchange of teachers and students between schools has been impossible; online teaching has been rendered impractical due to a scarcity of suitable devices in schools – according to the Sutton Trust, just 5% of teachers in state schools reported that all their students have access to an appropriate device for remote learning at the onset of the first lockdown in March 2020, compared to 54% at private schools.
Up to 559,000 children lived in households with no access to the internet, and up to 913,000 only able to access the internet through a mobile network.
‘Learning in Lockdown’, The Sutton Trust [https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/learning-in-lockdown/]
Departments will doubtless be eager to renew their relationships, now that the prospect of visits between schools are now again on the horizon. Some will have long-established programmes; others will be looking to set up links for the first time. Regardless of your experience, however, this may be a good time to consider how you could approach making Classics more accessible: how can we ensure that it is far more than a ‘box-ticking’ exercise? We spoke with Dr. Arlene Holmes-Henderson and Andrew Christie to work out how Classics departments can make their partnerships meaningful in the future. Together, we have compiled some suggestions for community engagement via question-and-answer.
What are our priorities?
Simply put, the priority should always be the ‘end-user’: in this instance, it must be the pupils in the state-maintained sector. Regardless of the lesson, curriculum or overall programme, these students are the fundamental reason for running such an initiative; clearly, there will also be benefits for the other parties involved (as we will discuss below), but these should be of secondary concern.
What are the benefits?
cui bono? Every classics teacher will be able to reel off the innumerable benefits that come from studying the ancient world: the improvement of grammatical understanding and language skills; the insight into some of the foundations of our own culture; the cross-curriculum links to subjects as diverse as MFL, Maths and Computing; the sheer joy of tackling something interesting, challenging and different.
What is the current picture?
Many state-maintained schools are not able to offer classical subjects. 76% of those who took A Level Latin in 2019 were educated independently, compared to 12% in selective state-maintained schools, and 12% in state-maintained non-selective schools: only 2% of all state-maintained schools in England entered candidates. 0.2% of state-maintained schools entered candidates for A Level Greek (Hunt and Holmes-Henderson, 2021).
In the face of these gloomy statistics, organisations like Classics For All and the Classical Association are offering reasons to be cheerful. Thanks to their work, numbers of those learning classical subjects in state-maintained schools are on the rise: the number of pupils learning Latin in schools supported by Classics For All rose from 2,241 in 2015 to 13,659 in 2020; numbers for Classical Civilisation increased from 257 to 1,774 in the same time period; where there were 10 students studying Ancient Greek in these schools in 2015, there were 794 in 2020.
There is much that the independent sector can do to be a vital supporter of Classics in state-maintained schools, but that is not to say that this is a ‘one-way’ transaction. There are clear benefits to teachers (both in the independent and maintained sectors); if sixth-formers are involved in teaching (more of which below), the challenges inherent in running a successful classroom have huge holistic value.
Who should be teaching?
It is crucial that any partnership work should not be the responsibility of a passionate single teacher, simply because the programme can be entirely dependent on that teacher.
Given the mobility within the profession, this can leave the partnership vulnerable to the career trajectory of one person; for relationships to be sustainable and meaningful, multiple staff in both establishments should be involved.
Dr. Arlene Holmes-Henderson
Simply put, primary programmes work best when the person leading the teaching are trained in primary pedagogy. This is a common clash between a (sometimes misleading) dichotomy of ‘subject-specialists’ versus ‘phase-specialists’: even the most experienced and knowledgeable teacher can falter in front of an age-group whose educational needs they do not understand.
Many secondary-trained teachers, well-versed in rigorous AfL and perhaps overly-reliant on chalk-and-talk, will naturally not conduct these classes in the way that primary school students are accustomed to – a far greater emphasis on kinaesthetic learning and varied activities are required for effective learning here.
I know that secondary school teachers teaching in primary have valued the opportunity to develop their teaching practice and adapt their practice to suit using songs, games and even puppets!
Andrew Christie
Of course, it might be the case that the local primary teachers do not have the subject knowledge to teach Latin; others might have studied it at school or degree-level, but haven’t taught it before. There are two options here: the preferable choice would be to find and encourage primary-age teachers in your network to contact CFA, who in turn can provide training. After that, independent school teachers can be used as ongoing mentors to those trained by CFA – either offering booster classes in curriculum content, or sharing resources. The alternative would be to involve independent school teachers in workshops that prioritise primary pedagogy (which we will touch on more below).
Where should it happen?
Often there are only two choices here: either the independent or the state-maintained school. Again, it is important to prioritise the end-user’s experience here: which environment will be more conducive to meaningful engagement? For some, the prospect and reality of visiting the independent school can be daunting – it may be better to learn in a familiar environment. Furthermore, while some primary-age pupils will be transported by their parents to a central location, not every child has that opportunity. On the other hand, such visits can also be very positive experiences, especially if the independent school has a big entry 11+ or 16+ entry point from their local state-maintained schools. Moreover, if the independent school is hosting teaching sessions for a collection of schools, it may well be easier to offer a centralised location.
What resources might you use?
To take primary partnership work first: many schools will teach the Minimus Latin course, which is more popular for outreach contexts than exercise-heavy textbooks like So You Really Want To Learn Latin? and Latin to Common Entrance. It is primarily a reading course that prioritises immediate language acquisition via comprehensible input, with the grammar taking a back-seat; the textbook is well augmented with an emphasis on Roman culture and a resource- and game-packed website. There is also a teacher-guide an audio CD available, as well as pupil books, mini books, pencils, stickers and bookmarks.
Depending on the set-up, independent school teachers might be better utilised as ‘subject specialists: the KS2 curriculum requires the teaching of ‘the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain‘, and external teachers could be introduced at points during the teaching of primary history to enliven lessons and add their own subject knowledge to these classes (perhaps via a Q&A session, like the ‘Classical Conversations‘ hosted by Oxford).
In terms of secondary schools: one option would be to offer the WJEC Level 1 Certificate in Latin Language. Time may already be a scarcity in state-maintained secondaries that are offering Latin off-timetable, in which case the above qualification would be a good choice. According to the WJEC guidance, the Total Qualification Time for this course is 160 hours: if students could be given an hour of teaching per week over three years (from Years 9 to 11), then completion would be feasible. Beyond the core language requirement, the certificate also allows you to choose between Roman civilisation and additional language: with a Defined Vocabulary List of only 200 words, it is a qualification well-suited to off-timetable, part-time teaching.
Another excellent option would be the GCSE in Classical Civilisation, according to Andrew Christie: given it is studied in translation, it can be an easier fit for both potential practitioners and their students, as espoused by Dr Holme-Henderson and Professor Hall’s Advocating Classics Education project.
Qualifications or enrichment?
For those teachers considering setting up a partnership, it is an important question to ask early in the process, even if it can only be answered contextually: each school will have different requirements and factors to consider.
How many hours can be devoted to classical subjects? How many students are involved? Some secondary schools will be keen to offer a qualification at the end of their course; others may prefer to offer classical subjects purely for enrichment. Once again, the prioritisation of the learners should be fundamental: what will best suit their needs?
Dr. Arlene Holmes-Henderson
How do you start?
If you are a teacher setting up a classical subject at your school, start here: Classics in Communities have two excellent starter-packs, one for secondary schools and the other for primary. You could also make contact with your local branch of the Classical Association, who might be able to offer some funding; read this report for the Guildford branch for insight into how they support local schools. If you’re looking for training on how to teach Latin, look no further than the teacher course at the JACT Latin Camp.
If you are a HoD or subject-leader looking to collaborate with other schools, start by approaching your SLT for advice. Speak to Classics For All: explain your aims and objectives, and ask them to put you in touch with state-maintained schools in your area that are offering classical subjects. Make contact with your local primary schools: what is their current level of awareness / resource / keenness? If there is an interest in these schools, advertise CfA to them. Offer to go into local schools to pitch classical languages to their MFL classes, or classical civilisation to their History or English sets.
I found it helpful to write to the heads of the local schools with a concrete offer. While you will be ignored by many, there will be those that are keen.
Andrew Christie
What can you do beyond teaching?
It may be the case that the local state-maintained schools have already set up teaching for classical subjects, either on or off-timetable – while they might not require extra teaching, there is still plenty that independent school teachers can do to support these programmes. As mentioned above, they could provide booster sessions in classical languages for both starter-teachers and pupils; they could also offer to run occasional KS2 or KS3 workshops for local schools. At the secondary level, departments could also invite their partner schools to ‘study days’, where teachers run sessions on key areas of the GCSE or A Level – be they focusing on classical civilisation, ancient languages or set-texts. Furthermore, schools could offer UCAS guidance and mock interviews for classical candidates; they could invite state-maintained schools for author-talks; they could ensure that resources – whether physical or electronic – are always available to their partner schools.
Perhaps most important of all would be to maintain a clear dialogue between the partner schools: in the precarious world of classical teaching, situations are ever changing, and departments should be open to supporting their partner schools in whatever way will best serve the pupil.
Where are my role models?
Should you want some examples of successful partnerships, look no further than the work that Andrew Christie has led at Streatham and Clapham High School: Andrew (@mrajchristie)has run an incredibly productive community project over the past few years, introducing pupils at local primary and secondary schools to the wonders of the classical world – further details can be found here.
Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson (@drarlenehh) is the Outreach Officer of the Classical Association and leads two national projects to widen access to the study of Classical subjects in schools and communities. A former school teacher, she won an award from the Institute of International Education in New York for her partnership working.
The following publications may help you prepare for these meetings:
Holmes-Henderson, A. and Kelly, K. (2021a) ‘Ancient and modern languages in primary schools’, Oxford Humanities blog, 21st April 2021, https://www.humanities.ox.ac.uk/article/ancient-and-modern-languages-in-primary-schools#/
Holmes-Henderson, A. (2021b) ‘Developing multiliteracies through Classical mythology in British classrooms’, in L. Maurice (ed.) Our Mythical Education: The Reception of the Classical World in Formal Education 1900-2020, University of Warsaw Press, 139-154. https://www.wuw.pl/product-pol-14887-Our-Mythical-Education-The-Reception-of-Classical-Myth-Worldwide-in-Formal-Education-1900-2020-PDF.html
Swallow, P. and Holmes-Henderson, A. (2021c) ‘Working towards fairer access to Classical subjects in schools: the Advocating Classics Education (ACE) project’, Council of University Classics Departments Equality Diversity and Inclusion Blog, 24th May 2021, https://cucdedi.wordpress.com/2021/05/24/working-towards-fairer-access-to-classical-subjects-in-schools-the-advocating-classics-education-ace-project/
Holmes-Henderson, A., Hunt, S. and Musié, M. (eds.) (2018) Forward with Classics. Classical languages in schools and communities, Bloomsbury academic.
Holmes-Henderson, A. (2016) ‘Teaching Latin and Greek in primary classrooms: the Classics in Communities Project’, Journal of Classics Teaching, Vol. 17, 33, 50-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S2058631016000131
