From strength to strength - Bishop Thomas Grant School

A fascinating language
Latin is now on the school curriculum,
taught to a class in Year 7 by
Ms Sini-Spencer, who was full of
enthusiasm when she spoke to us:
“We are following the Cambridge Latin
Course, which is excellent. Students learn
vocabulary and grammar through reading
Latin narratives, not through memorising
lists of words and reciting declensions.
It is a fascinating language for anyone who
likes people, ideas, words, the past or
studying the way society works.
Many English words are derived from
Latin, so you can improve your knowledge
of English – and learning Latin is
invaluable if you are studying a
Romance language.
We will learn a lot about the Roman
Empire, a key period in European history.
At the moment we are concentrating on
Pompeii (pictured below), the town which
was preserved for posterity after being
buried by volcanic ash from
Mount Vesuvius.
A basic knowledge of Latin is useful on
many degree courses, too. Think of all
those names in Biology.
Because I am Greek, I have an extra
interest in Latin. I know, for example, that
triclinium is the word for a formal dining
room. It comes from the Greek triklinion
( which means ‘three couches’.
Each couch was big enough for three
diners, who would eat food brought to
them by slaves while reclining on their left
sides. The word recline comes from the
Latin reclinare – which means ‘to
lean back’.
The subject has been introduced and is
catching on, so hopefully it will expand
in future.”
Samuel Abara (in the picture) commented:
“Through Latin we can learn about ancient
times. It is easy sometimes, because of
its connections with English, and our
teacher explains things so that we all
understand.”
Headteacher: Mr L Desa BSc
Bishop Thomas Grant School,
Belltrees Grove, London, SW16 2HY
Telephone 020 8769 3294 Fax 020 8769 4917
website: www.btg.ac
Email: headteacher@btg-secondary.lambeth.sch.uk
The six most widely-spoken
standardised languages which
descend from Latin – the Romance
languages – are Spanish (about 329
million), Portuguese (178 million),
French (68 million), Italian (62 million),
Romanian (23 million) and Catalan
(12 million), the numbers being for
native speakers. Two thirds of all
Romance speakers live
outside Europe.
Edited and produced by Richard Wilcocks. Enquiries to Meerkat Publications and Design 0845 9011 809
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