A Level Latin

Course summary

What do I need to know or be able to do before taking this course? Latin A Level is a demanding but extremely rewarding course for those students who are interested in the wider culture and literature of Rome and the ancient world. Not only will you further develop your understanding of language, grammar and vocabulary, but you will start to read a wider selection of literature from a diverse group of authors, whose work ranges across genres: from history to love poetry, fromepic to public speeches, fromcomedy to tragedy. What will I learn on this course? Latin A Level has two main aims: to develop your linguistic fluency so that you are able to read passages of unadapted ‘real’ Latin, and to enable you to understand the literature of the Roman world in greater depth. Language You will build on and develop the GCSE grammar you have learned to enable you to tackle increasingly complex and sophisticated texts without prior preparation. Topics such as subordinate clauses, uses of the subjunctive, ablative absolutes and indirect statements are revised, consolidated and extended. Your vocabulary will broaden from a GCSE list of around 450 words to allow you to fluently translate passages from the set unseen authors: Livy (for prose) and Ovid (for verse). You will also perform either in-depth grammatical analysis of a piece of Latin prose, or practise regular translation from English into Latin. Literature At A Level, you study longer texts, from as many as four different authors, in greater depth over the two years of the course. For examination in 2022, the set prose texts are extracts from: - Cicero, Pro Cluentio - Tacitus, Annals 4 - Livy 1 For examination in 2022, the set verse texts are extracts from: - Virgil, Aeneid 12 - Catullus (a selection) - Ovid, Heroides For examination in 2022, the set verse texts are extracts from: - Virgil, Aeneid 12 - Catullus (a selection) - Ovid, Heroides What skills will I develop by doing this course? • Reading Latin:you will be able to understand, with minimal preparation or hesitation, passages of even the most complex Latin verse and prose. • Literary analysis and appreciation:you will gain a deeper understanding of the literary and historical context of some of the greatest works of Latin literature, and you will analyse the fine details of texts against the backdrop of that context to develop a full and persuasive account of how and why they convey their meanings. • Independent study: Latin is a course that requires that you identify your own aims in language learning: there is no defined vocabulary list at A Level, so you must be proactive in committing the words you encounter in your set texts to memory. • Study skills:Latin will provide an opportunity for you to regularly respond to tailored, personal feedback, toreflect on your areas for development, and to set your own goals for study over the course of the two-year course. What kind of student is this course suitable for? This course will appeal to students who have an interest in • developing further their current linguistic skills in Spanish • exploring cultural and political aspects of Spanish speaking countries • analysing a variety of topics, a book, a film and a topic of their choice in Spanish (IRP) What could I go on to do at the end of my course? A Level Latin is a highly-prized subject that is distinguished for the way in combines linguistic rigour, literary analysis, history, civilisation and politics. Latin A Level combines excellently with other languages and humanities subjects, but equally provides an interesting counterpoint to courses in science and mathematics, which draw on the same problem solving skills you will use in your grammatical analysis and translation. Beyond Sixth Form, Latin enables you to pursue a vast number of degree courses. If you want to specialise in the ancient world, the greatest gift Latin A Level can give you is to allow you access to a degree in Classics - the study of the ancient Mediterranean world in full. This incredibly exciting degree encompasses Latin and Ancient Greek, as well as Ancient History, Classical Civilisation, Art History, Philosophy and Linguistics. Latin A Level will also allow you to study the above subjects as individual pathways, if you want to concentrate on one area. Latin can also be combined as a course with other languages or areas of study. The skills you will learn from Latin are transferrable to many degrees, and will be immediately useful if you chose to specialise in Modern Languages, English Literature or Language, but will equally provide useful for many other courses across the humanities (and indeed in the sciences too). Whatever the case, employers and universities love Latin; they won’t have seen many people with Latin A Level!