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"Classics is such a fun and creative option and is very eye-opening. It gives us an insight into our past, who we were as people thousands of years ago and their process of thought of how to explain the natural world around them like myths and legends. It gives you a way of seeing the way they fought wars and trained, grew up, even their politics and so much more. It is such an amazing part of our history and is really fun to study".
What is Classical Civilisation?
What is Classical Civilisation?
Course description
Course description
1. Thematic Study: Myth and Religion
2. Literature and Culture: War and Warfare
The course aims to encourage independent learning and reflective thinking through enquiry into the Classical world. It helps to develop an awareness of the continuing influence of the Classical world on later times. As well as this, students develop critical and analytical skills and make informed, personal responses to the material studied. Students are expected analyse and evaluate both written and visual sources. The exam is made up of a mixture of short answers and essays. This is a non-linguistic course and all the material covered is in English, except for a few key terms.
The Thematic Study unit provides our students with the opportunity to compare ancient Greek and Roman cultures through the way that they approached mythology and religion. We will study the powers, origins, worship and stories of the gods, the life of Hercules, temples, sacrifices, worship in the home, death and burial and the ancient afterlife. Students will need to compare and contrast different sources and ways of life. Students will also develop an understanding of the similarities and differences between ancient and modern thought and culture, coming to understand the profound influence ancient cultures have had upon our own.
The Literature and Culture unit allows our students to study both ancient writing and history in order to understand various aspects of the ancient world. We study “War and Warfare”, focussing on the wars of the 5th century BC (Persia against Greece and then Athens against Sparta), the Roman military and the Romans at war. We will focus upon training, equipment, structure, presentation of war and the battles themselves. We will also study additional literary sources, including canons of western literature such as the Iliad and the Aeneid.
Course structure
Course structure
All units are externally assessed at the end of Year 11.
Each paper is 90 minutes long and is worth 50% of the final mark.
Qualification: GCSE in Classical Civilisation
Exam Board OCR GCSE - Classical Civilisation (9-1) - J199 - OCR
Director of Learning: Mr A McHale
"I chose classics due to my initial interest in mythology. Studying Classics at GCSE was honestly the best choice I made! The teachers are so knowledgeable and their passion for the subject really shines through their teaching. As well as this the content is genuinely interesting, if you are interested in Hercules and his labours and other mythological stories, artwork including gorgeous temples, stories of the gods and a study of religion in the ancient world as well as politics and literature the course is perfect. It covers such a breadth of areas so there is definitely something for everyone! I enjoyed every single topic as the ancient world is so fascinating and even bizarre! Trust me the weirdness of the stories actually make them more memorable! I found my two years studying Classics so entertaining and rewarding, I’ve now continued it into A-levels and later university so let me know if you have any questions! "
"Classics is a fantastic subject! I took it up back in Year 10 as one of my options and have loved it ever since! I’ve always enjoyed reading Percy Jackson and other fantasy books so thought I’d give the subject a try and honestly it fulfilled my expectations and much more. The subject is fascinating, exciting and a little strange at times, but this makes it all the better to learn. Classics has unexpected twists and turns, with mythical stories involving the gods to the unique ways in which the Spartans lived. Honestly, Classics is by far the most fun subject to do at GCSE and the friends you make during the course make it all the better!"
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