In England and across the world, the most popular examination board for GCSE Latin is OCR (Cambridge International for IGCSE). However, to many people’s surprise, GCSE Latin is not their only offering. If you ask someone what other classical subjects they offer qualifications in, mostly likely the response would be Classical Greek. If you pressed further, you might hear Classical Civilisation. However, were you to ask once again, you’d mostly likely get a blank stare of confusion. Few know that in OCR’s suite of Classics GCSE subjects, there are no fewer than four options: Latin, Classical Greek, Classical Civilisation, and Ancient History.
Great, you may be thinking, they offer more than I thought! What of it? If we delve further we discover that all four of these qualifications are closely related with overlap and all are mutually enriching. Learning Latin helps you learn Greek. Knowing the languages and literature helps understand and approach the culture. Knowing the languages and culture automatically gives you an insight into history.
The combination of these four mutually beneficial subjects as GCSE choices is not an option that should be overlooked by anyone with an interest in Classics. Of course, any combination of two, or three, or all four will be helpful. If you’re a home educator eager for your child to get a good number of GCSEs then some overlap will be appealing. If you’re a student who just can’t get enough of the ancient world then the appeal is obvious. Whatever your situation, combining some of the Classical subjects together is an option worth thinking about.
Here’s a brief overview of what you can expect from each.
Latin
This is probably the best known of the four Classical subjects offered at GCSE and A Level. It consists unsurprisingly of learning the Latin language. This means learning set grammar and vocabulary, but it also means learning about Latin literature and reading some original Latin literature which is split into two types, prose – e.g., history, speeches – and verse – poetry. At GCSE there are four exams, one based on purely language, translating passages and reading passages and answering questions about them. The other two are based on some original Latin texts which are read in class and studied before the exam. This is often the starting point for a Classicist, but doesn’t have to be.
Classical Greek
Classical Greek is labelled as such to distinguish it from modern Greek (although, just say ‘Greek’ and many people think of the ancient version!). This is the same in its structure as Latin with the four exams as described above. The only difference of course is that it’s a different language! This means that it will give the learner an appreciation of Greek culture and history, just as the Latin gives the same appreciation of the Roman.
Classical Civilisation
An up-and-coming qualification which has more and more learners each year. This qualification doesn’t require learning either of the classical languages but allows the learner to approach the ancient world through translations into English and through material and art culture. This is split into two halves: a ‘Thematic Study’ and ‘Literature and Culture’. This allows the learner to learn about all sorts of aspects of the ancient world using all sorts of evidence. Those who have studied the language will find it invaluable to place their language knowledge in its context, but they will also be able to use the many stories they have read while studying to give them a background for what they learn here.
Ancient History
This is by far the least done of the qualifications. It sort of does what it says on the tin. It’s the study of the history of the ancient world. It is also split into two halves: ‘Greece and Persia’ and ‘Rome and its neighbours’. This distinction shows how useful the general cultural learning which one gets from learning the languages will be here and also how the learning of the history surrounding the language will benefit the language learner, expanding their understanding and vocabulary (the joy of finding in a Greek translation exam a passage on a story you’ve studied in history is immense, I know!).
Whether you already study one or two or three or even none of the above GCSE Classics options, it is well worth considering taking the exams as a suite on account of their mutual enrichment and benefit.
If this interests you, don’t hesitate to be in contact with us here at Vox Clara Tutoring, whether you need support alongside school or the whole qualification.