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KS4

GCSE Course Followed: Latin

Specification: Eduqas (Specification C990PA)

Why Choose GCSE

We build on the De Romanis course used in Years 8 and 9 with a variety of material. The aims of the course are:

  • To develop an ability to read Latin literature of the classical period;
  • To understand the society and cultural context in which the literature was written, and to enable pupils to compare the ancient world with our own;
  • To develop understanding and response to language and literature.

The early part of the course will concentrate on mastery of the vocabulary and grammar to prepare specifically for the Language paper, while developing a wider understanding of the world of Ancient Rome. Students are also introduced to the principles of translating English into Latin, which forms a non-compulsory section of the Language exam.

The later stages focus on the texts set for examination study in the Literature papers. Typically, a pupil might study some letters of the Younger Pliny describing aspects of daily life in a provincial town in the Roman Empire, or a scene from the Trojan War as described in Virgil’s Aeneid.

There is no coursework assessment and no aural or verbal test.

We have to take three papers in all, from the following options:

paper 1

Paper 1 – (1 hour 30 minutes)

                Language (50% of the GCSE)

Papers 2

Paper 2 – (1 hour 15 mins)

                Theme Literature options (30% of the GCSE)

A short anthology of original unabridged Latin texts on a specific theme, e.g. Romans and the Countryside, or Superstition and Magic, or Love and Marriage

Paper 3

Paper 3 – (1 hour)

                Narrative Literature options (20% of the GCSE)

A continuous narrative from a Latin original text, e.g. the adventures of Perseus, or the Emperor Nero.