WHY STUDY
LATIN?
ENGLISH LITERACY
Our curriculum is built to improve English literacy. Latin encourages a logical and holistic approach to language so we work to ensure that our pupils have the strongest possible understanding of English grammar, beginning with nouns and verbs, before moving on to Latin. Since over 65% of English words have Latin roots, our lessons also measurably improve English vocabulary. And that's not all. Latin provides many of the root words for modern sciences, law, politics, medicine and theology. Future doctors, step right up!
LEARNING OTHER LANGUAGES
Latin is the basis of 75–80% of all Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian words. If you know the meanings in Latin, you’re more than halfway there! Two (or three, or four…) languages for the price of one!
Conversely, speakers of Romance languages have an edge in studying Latin. Latin students also have a huge advantage in learning other inflected languages, such as Russian or German.
CULTURAL IMPACT
Our lessons promote an understanding of the Roman Empire's influence on Western civilisation, allowing our pupils to explore how people in the past have viewed the world, and the ways in which those views have changed. Through the use of cultural topics and storytelling, we make links between the ancient Romans and the African, Balkan, Ottoman, and Asian cultures they came into contact with as they travelled.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Promoting self-esteem and self-reliance is particularly important with those students who struggle at school. Evidence from a study carried out in Worcester, MA found that Latin students “demonstrated improved motivation, were more self-reliant, and had a higher self-image at the conclusion of the program” (Sussman, 1978; Masciantonio, 1982).
Latin boosts cognitive processes essential for maths, science, and engineering, and has been said to cultivate such mental processes as alertness, attention to detail, memory, logic, and critical reasoning.
