Far too few British children are educated about the ancient Greeks and Romans at secondary level. Studying ancient Greek and Roman civilisation, history, thought, literature, art and archaeology is not only exciting and instructive, but confers profound advantages: it hones analytical and critical skills, trains minds in the comparative use of different types of evidence, introduces young people to the finest oratory and skills in argumentation and communication, enhances cultural literacy, refines consciousness of cultural difference and relativism, fosters awareness of a three-millennia long past, along with models and ideals of democracy, and develops identities founded in citizenship on the national, European and cosmopolitan, global level.

Unfortunately, qualifications at GCSE and ‘A’ or A/S Level in Latin and Ancient Greek languages are hardly available outside the private education sector. There is, however, a financially feasible solution for state sector students: the introduction of courses leading up to qualifications in Classical Civilisation or Ancient History. In most parts of the UK, these qualifications can be taught by any teacher, of any subject, currently employed in a school or 6th-form college and in possession of qualified teacher status, enthusiasm to teach the ancient world, and sufficient support. From 1 July 2017, our project will engage directly with teachers, schools and the public in a series of public events in 15 regional centres across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, designed to maximise dialogue that will feed into our research and public impact.

The project Principal Investigator, Professor Edith Hall, was delighted to be informed in January 2017 that she had been awarded a Leadership Fellowship from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to support this project and enable Dr Arlene Homes-Henderson, who co-wrote the application, to join her as Research Fellow in the Department of Classics at King’s College London.

From March 2019 the project has been funded by the Classical Association, King’s College London, the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies and the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies; the Research Fellowship position has been funded until 2021 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and a private donor.

Those who would like to learn more donating to the work of the project should contact Professor Edith Hall at [email protected].

To introduce or support the teaching of Classical subjects in schools or 6th-form colleges.

To raise the profile of Classical subjects.

To influence educational policy, especially by getting Classical Civilisation accepted alongside Ancient History as a core Humanities subject on the English Baccalaureate.

To conduct unprecedented research into the achievements in teaching of the civilisation and history of ancient Greece and Rome through English translations in British schools/6th-form colleges since the 1960s.