# Cambridge School Classics Project Blog ## Posts - [Exploring Explorers: some recent developments](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/exploring-explorers-some-recent-developments/): In this post, CSCP’s Mair Lloyd shares some of the enhancements made to story explorers for the UK and International 5th edition Cambridge Latin Course (see Figure 1 for an example). This post builds on ideas Mair presented at the Classical Association conference in St Andrews in April 2025 and in a blog post authored with Maddie Golding for Cambridge University Press. Figure 1: The first story explorer for the new UK & International 5th edition I have a long history with story explorers and their close cousins the Perseus Tufts Latin texts. These online digital resources make it possible ... Read more - [valē, Pat Story](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/vale-pat-story/): We were deeply sorry to hear of the passing of ex-Director Pat Story, who remained an active part of the CSCP familia right up until her death at the age of 93. Here current Director Caroline Bristow reflects on Pat’s extraordinary contrubutions to classrooms around the world. Jill Dalladay, Robin Griffin, Pat, and Roger Dalladay at the launch of the CLC e-learning software at the British Museum in 2004. Being the Director of CSCP is a deeply strange job. I never know whether it is funny, frustrating, or comforting when I read or hear accounts of previous Directors’ tenure and see in them ... Read more - [Speaking of History Pedagogy: In Conversation with Lottie Mortimer](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/speaking-of-history-pedagogy-in-conversation-with-lottie-mortimer/): Last year CSCP’s Caroline Musgrove met with Lottie Mortimer to chat about history pedagogy for the Classics classroom and Lottie’s work on the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course. In this interview, Lottie discusses best practice in history teaching, what makes a good enquiry question and why it all matters, not just for schools but for the polarised and data driven world we live in today. Lottie Mortimer alongside a new illustration of the Romans arriving in Britain from Stage 13. The wall painting depicting a woman with a stylus and wax tablet is from Pompeii. It’s 2018. Lottie has been a ... Read more - [Teaching Latin in the Reading Ancient Schoolroom](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/teaching-latin-in-the-reading-ancient-schoolroom/): Are you looking for new ways to engage your students in Latin or the ancient world? Taking a trip to an ancient schoolroom might be just the thing! In this post, Professor Eleanor Dickey explains how the Reading Ancient Schoolroom came about, discusses the activities on offer and the historical evidence upon which they are based. Pupils prepare to recite in the ancient schoolroom Can ancient teaching methods work today? Most of us tend to assume that the answer is no, both because the educational changes since antiquity are by definition progress and because modern pupils are so different from ancient ones ... Read more - [Teaching the 5th Edition: Reflections of a Latin teacher](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/teaching-the-5th-edition-reflections-of-a-latin-teacher/): How is the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course being received by students in the Latin classroom? In this post, Joanna Johnson, Head of Classics at Solihull School, shares her first impressions of the new textbook, and some of her students’ most interesting reactions! Lucia reads from Book I of the 5th edition, featuring female characters both old and new Having taken my own first steps in Latin with the Cambridge Latin Course and used it as a teacher for over twenty years, I was thrilled to hear the CLC was getting a new edition. I quickly shared my thoughts with the ‘Caecilius is Listening’ ... Read more - [On Sensitivity Reading: the what, how, and why](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/on-sensitivity-reading-the-what-how-and-why/): What is a sensitivity reading, and how is it done? In this post, Pria Jackson reflects on her EDI work for the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course, and on what the process can bring to our classrooms and our representations of the ancient world. Introducing Queen Catia, who has not only a name but a stronger presence in the UK 5th edition of the Cambridge Latin Course. When I was first asked to read the latest edition of the Cambridge Latin Course for “matters of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” I was wary. I had never heard of a ... Read more - [First impressions of the new Book II](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/first-impressions-of-the-new-book-ii/): From accessible cultural background sections to more human stories, Elizabeth Hayes, Curriculum Lead Tutor at the University of Sussex, shares some first impressions of the new CLC 5th edition, Book II. An illustration accompanying the new story, Rōmānus vulnerātus, in Stage 13 of the UK 5th edition. My love of Book II of the Cambridge Latin Course was cemented in the rather challenging academic year of 2020-21. I had a Year 9 class who, despite lockdowns, online learning, and bubbles, managed to keep their spirits up and me entertained. They were a passionate bunch who approached CLC II with one goal – justice for Bregans! From ... Read more - [Success in language acquisition (and GCSEs)](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/success-in-language-acquisition-and-gcses/): In this post, Director Caroline Bristow explores how the CLC’s carefully constructed linguistic plan has been adapted to respond to ever tighter teaching schedules and exam pressures. A selection of images from the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course, including the new About the Language and Practising the Language sections.  When CSCP undertook Caecilius is Listening research to inform plans for a new edition, by far the greatest concern for teachers was the difficulty in making best use of the CLC in seemingly ever-reducing teaching time, and how to ensure that students were supported in preparation for qualifications such as GCSE.  A ... Read more - [Working women – Clara](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/post-template-clone-before-editing/): The artifex Clara will replace Celer in the new Cambridge Latin Course. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow describes the research that shaped Clara’s representation in the new UK and International edition and the evidence for working women in the ancient world. Clara paints a picture. The fresco is from the House of the Surgeon in Pompeii and depicts a female artist at work. Wealthy women like Metella may not have worked outside the home, but most women’s lives involved far more than marrying and having children. Many households could simply not have survived without help from all their members, and so ... Read more - [It’s a girl! – Lucia](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/its-a-girl-lucia/): The household of Caecilius has gained a daughter in the new UK and International edition of the Cambridge Latin Course. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow introduces Lucia and explores the surviving evidence for the lives of girls like her in the Roman world. A new illustration of Lucia for the UK and International fifth edition of the Cambridge Latin Course While we know from surviving records that Caecilius had at least two sons, Quintus and Sextus, we know nothing else about the family. Back when the Cambridge Latin Course was first created, the authors invented the character of Metella but gave the ... Read more - [Old friends – Barbillus](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/old-friends-barbillus/): The character Barbillus has made his way to Book I in the new UK and International edition. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow introduces the history behind the character and the evidence we used to better capture his Greco-Syrian-Egyptian heritage.  Barbillus in the new edition of the CLC. On either side of him are the Fayum mummy portraits of two men that inspired his appearance in the textbooks. Both portraits date from the second century AD; the one on the right depicts a young officer wearing a sword belt. The character of Barbillus has been an important figure in Book ... Read more - [The story's the thing…](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/the-storys-the-thing/): From Quintus’ little sister to the introduction of Barbillus as amīcus in Book I, there’s lots to look forward to in the new edition. In this post, Director Caroline Bristow reflects on the narrative that students and teachers love and the changes you can expect from the new UK and International edition. The familia of Caecilius in full colour. The illustration appears on the opening page of Stage 1 in the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course. *Spoilers ahead* The strength of the Cambridge Latin Course has always been its stories. Far more than just vehicles for language learning, they are key to the success ... Read more - [In conversation with Caecilius, Metella and Grumio](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/in-conversation-with-caecilius-metella-and-grumio/): If you’ve ever used the Cambridge Latin Course eLearning DVD, chances are the faces of Tim Clark, Clare-Marie Roxby and Ed Noy-Scott are familiar. Better known as Caecilius, Metella and Grumio, they were teaching at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle in the early 2000s when the ancillary videos were made. CSCP’s Caroline Musgrove spoke with them about their rise to CLC stardom. Ed Noy-Scott as Grumio, Clare-Marie Roxby as Metella and Tim Clark as Caecilius in stills from the eLearning DVD, alongside pictures of the cast from our Zoom call in 2021. In the early 2000s, the eLearning DVD introduced the ... Read more - [dē nōminibus](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/de-nominibus/): What’s in a name? As part of our series CLC: Past and Present, Anna Barker considers some discussions we could have in the classroom on characters’ names, and what they can tell us about the Roman world. Felix in Book I of the Cambridge Latin Course When I was marking some Year 8 assessment papers the other day, I noticed that one student, ignoring the clue in the capitalisation, had translated Quintus’ name as ‘fifth’. Some bad-natured tutting gave way to self-reflection. Why do I never spend much time discussing the significance, and sometimes the strangeness, of Roman names? Roman names are inherently ... Read more - [dē Virgiliō](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/post-template-clone-before-editing-2/): Can the CLC be read as an epic? In this post, part of our CLC: Past and Present series, Anna Barker finds some Virgilian echoes in the narrative of Quintus. Quintus arrives at the house of Barbillus in Alexandria in Book II of the CLC As a trainee teacher, I once overheard someone say that the narrative of the Cambridge Latin Course was based on the Aeneid. I can’t remember who said this, or what their authority was, or which aspects of the story they had in mind, but it was one of those moments which elicited admiration and surprise. There is something extremely satisfying ... Read more - [dē tempore](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/de-tempore/): As part of our series CLC: Past and Present, Anna Barker reflects on the nature of the CLC as a continuous narrative which students follow throughout their school careers. Grumio in the kitchen in Book I of the Cambridge Latin Course What’s the longest time it’s taken you to read a book? Maybe a few months for A Suitable Boy. Perhaps you had War and Peace on the go for a year, or even, God help us, Ulysses.   Yet something quite extraordinary takes place in Latin classes in schools everyday, something which is almost never remarked on. Students of the Cambridge Latin Course read a continuous ... Read more - [Reflections on the Cambridge Latin Course](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/reflections-on-the-cambridge-latin-course/): As part of our series on the CLC: Past and Present, Anna Karsten reflects on the role her father, David Karsten, played in the early history of the Cambridge Latin Course and the reasons the CLC continues to be much loved in the Classics classroom today. David Karsten’s notes on the pilot of the Cambridge Latin Course My first encounter with the Cambridge Latin Course was at the beginning of 3rd form (what we would now call year 9) when I began learning Latin at school. Back then it was still in individual booklets for each stage and the Book I stages were orange with ... Read more - [KS3 History with Amarantus and his neighbours](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/ks3-history-with-amarantus-and-his-neighbours/): CSCP is delighted to have launched its new KS3 History project Amarantus and his neighbourhood. In these short videos Director Caroline Bristow explains how to use the new materials and introduces the newest member of the CSCP familia. Introduction These videos have been created based on an online event hosted by Classics For All’s Bristol hub, many thanks to them for allowing us to have the recording. Amarantus and his neighbourhood is CSCP’s new history teaching scheme aimed at KS3 (age 11-14) classrooms. In this first video, Caroline explains the pedagogical thinking behind its creation. Teaching In this next short video you can look at how the ... Read more - [How to Teach Deep Culture in Secondary Latin](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/how-to-teach-deep-culture-in-secondary-latin/): How do we teach Greek and Roman culture in a rigorous and systematic way that honors the complexity and diversity of the peoples that inhabited the Ancient Mediterranean? In this piece, Evan Dutmer provides teachers with a simple framing tool that will help them to teach culture on both its surface and deeper levels. A drawing from Philocalus’ calendar of 354 CE depicting a personification of the month of December, with Saturnalian dice on the table and a mask hanging on the wall above. This piece appeared in a longer form at the Journal of the History of Ideas Blog. One of the ... Read more - [Crossing the Curricucon: Suggestions for using Classics across the curriculum](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/crossing-the-curricucon-suggestions-for-using-classics-across-the-curriculum/): With time at a premium in school, it can be difficult to cover everything in the depth we would like. In this post, Darren Lester considers how Classics can be used to enforce curriculum aims in Religious Education, Physical Education, Design and Technology, Geography, Music and Drama. A view of the Ponte Sant’Angelo in Rome. Originally called the Aelian Bridge, it was completed during the reign of Hadrian in 134 CE.  One of the joys of teaching Classics is that it is a broad discipline. I came to Classics first through a love of myth and storytelling, and then an interest in language, which ... Read more - [Roman Britain: Tips and Resources for the Classroom](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/a-page-template-clone-before-editing/): Whether you are planning a school trip or exploring remotely from your Latin classroom, there are plenty of resources available to help you teach Roman Britain. In our first Hints and Tips post, Alexander Carroll shares a few of his favourites. A view of the Great Bath of Aquae Sulis, part of the major Roman bathing complex in Bath in the UK.  For those of us who live in the UK, evidence of the Roman world is right on our doorstep. This evidence reminds us that Britain was once a small province of a much larger empire, one that stretched from the banks ... Read more - [Robin Griffin – An Appreciation](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/robin-griffin-an-appreciation/): Pat Story, CSCP’s second director, reflects on the life of Robin Griffin, who played a crucial role in the development of the Cambridge Latin Course. Robin Griffin and Pat Story pictured at the official launch of the CLC digital resources at the British Museum in 2004. I first met Robin when he was teaching the Cambridge Latin Course in the late 1960s at Crown Woods Comprehensive School in SE London. It was immediately obvious that here was a ‘natural’ – one who could stimulate the interest and learning of his students and who also had a thorough understanding of the ... Read more - [Decolonising the Classics Classroom: Diversity & Representation in Visual Aids](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/a-page-template-clone-before-editing-3/): Working towards inclusivity in the Classics classroom is a combination of what we choose to teach and how we choose to teach it. In this post, Rob Hancock-Jones shares some of his experiences teaching Classical Civilisation making use of diverse and inclusive visual aids. A montage of three of the ‘Fayum’ mummy portraits discovered in Egypt and dating from the Imperial Roman era. Every September my classroom welcomes a new cohort of GCSE Classical Civilisation students. Some are eager to make a start on this new stage in their education, others seem trepidatious about what to expect from this “new subject” (I ... Read more - [Video: Mai's Classics Story](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/a-page-template-clone-before-editing-4/): Following the success of ‘What Have the Classics Ever Done for Me?‘, Communicator Ltd interviewed Dr Mai Musié about her extraordinary Classics journey, how she came to study Classics and what the subject means to her. This work was sponsored by ourselves, the Classical Association and the Roman and Hellenic societies. Communicator Ltd16/03/2021 Following the success of ‘What Have the Classics Ever Done for Me?‘, Communicator Ltd interviewed Dr Mai Musié about her extraordinary Classics journey, how she came to study Classics and what the subject means to her. This work was sponsored by ourselves, the Classical Association and the ... Read more - [Video: What have the Classics ever done for me?](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/video-what-have-the-classics-ever-done-for-me/): CSCP recently had the pleasure of collaborating with Communicator Ltd to produce What Have the Classics Ever Done For Me?, a short video which aims to dispel the worries of students (and their parents!) about the value of Classics-related subjects and their associated career prospects. This work was sponsored by us, the Classical Association and the Roman and Hellenic societies. Video producer and student of Classics at the Open University, Paul Drew, explains how this exciting resource and partnership came to be: What Have The Classics Ever Done For Me? is a short video produced by Communicator Ltd and sponsored by the Classical Association, the ... Read more - [Race Theory, Critical Race Theory, and the Classics Classroom](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/race-theory-critical-race-theory-and-the-classics-classroom/): In response to those who may think otherwise, Elena Giusti argues that the application of Race Theory and Critical Race Theory to the ancient world is far from a needless intellectual exercise. It enables teachers and students to connect antiquity and modernity while investigating our own biases and making us better interpreters of both societies, and of our own academic and pedagogical practices. Gypsum heads of Apollo and Aphrodite, unpainted. Classicists often steer clear of the concept of ‘Race’. As Denise McCoskey points out in a recent interview, many in the field tend to speak of ‘ethnicity’ on the grounds that race ‘is not ... Read more - [Scholarship for the Classroom: BAME Medea](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/a-page-template-clone-before-editing-5/): In the first of our “Scholarship for the Classroom” pieces, Caroline Bristow looks at how 2018’s BAME Medea production in Oxford can be used as a piece of scholarship for A Level Classical Civilisation, and provides links to the resources and discussion surrounding it. A still from the from the 2018 production of Medea at Keble College, Oxford. In 2018 the O’Reilly Theatre at Keble College Oxford hosted the University’s first all BAME production, an interpretation of Euripides’ Medea. Directed by Fran Amewudah-Rivers and co-produced by Shivaike Shah, the production “effectively capitalizes on Euripides’ complex portrait of a foreigner in an unsympathetic ... Read more - [Surviving Two Thousand Years: understanding the role of power in shaping the textual record](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/a-page-template-clone-before-editing-6/): Why do some stories survive thousands of years while others are quickly lost? Many factors affect an ancient text’s chances of survival, but most important is power. If we understand how texts have survived with the aid of each generation’s most empowered, can we then predict which modern classics will survive? From the Classic to the Classical: Orpheus and Eurydice. What makes something Classical? Can we guess what will be Classical two thousand years from now? The answer lies in hell. Located at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City, the musical Hadestown, in its first run, swept the Tony ... Read more - [Centring Africa in Greek and Roman Literature, while Decolonising the Classics Classroom](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/a-page-template-clone-before-editing-7/): Diversifying the teaching provision of Classics and Ancient History does not necessarily help us to ‘decolonise’ the discipline and engage in anti-racist pedagogical practice. Dr Elena Giusti reflects on her undergraduate module ‘Africa and the Making of Classical Literature’ at the University of Warwick. Last year, among the many articles that followed the aftermath of the racist incidents that occurred at the 2019 meeting of the Society for Classical Studies in San Diego, I came across a sarcastic comment from an anonymous detractor of the decolonisation of Classics syllabi. It said something along the lines of: “I wonder what a Classics course on ... Read more - [Restoring Color to Ancient Rome](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/restoring-color-to-ancient-rome/): Discussions have erupted across the Latin teaching community about race and representation in our portrayal of Ancient Rome. Should teachers prioritize equitable representation or historical accuracy? Perhaps these goals are not mutually exclusive. The Portrait of Terentius Neo, Pompeii. There has been a lot of hand-wringing recently in the Latin teaching community about how to address systemic racism in our field. One topic that has been especially ripe for heated debate is how we choose to depict the ancient world for our students. Some argue that we have an obligation to teach the ancient Roman world as a multi-racial world ... Read more - [salvēte omnēs: the importance of welcoming everyone](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/a-page-template-clone-before-editing-8/): Director Caroline Bristow addresses the importance of inclusion to the core mission of CSCP: ensuring that Classics flourishes in classrooms. This article also introduces the theme of race and decolonisation which will be the focus of this blog’s opening series of posts. Susan Hadaki, Kiruthiga Koneswaran, Hanifa Izzatillaeva and Nia Smith of Townley Grammar School at the Cambridge School Classics Project’s Ovid Competition. The first CSCP Bulletin (Towards a New Latin Reading Course) spoke in terms of the “widely varying levels of pupil ability”, but today we acknowledge myriad factors which may lead to students questioning whether they have any place in ... Read more ## Pages - [Race & Decolonisation](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/race-decolonisation/): This series emphasises the importance of setting aside assumptions that obscure the diversity of ancient cultures and overlook Classics’ place in a global context, so that our discipline becomes a more inclusive space for people of colour. - [CLC: Past and Present](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/clc-past-and-present/): To celebrate the fifth edition of the UK and International version of the Cambridge Latin Course, this series explores the history of the textbook and looks towards to its future. Featuring reflection pieces from our teaching community and interviews with some of the writers, friends and Directors who have shaped it, we reflect on why the CLC has been so unique and well-loved to date. The series will also be the place to learn about where the Cambridge Latin Course goes from here, from the research that shaped its approach to representation and diversity, to the new language features, characters, ... Read more - [Contact](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/contact/): Do you have feedback or ideas to share with us? Would you like to contribute to our blog? Please get in touch via this contact form. We will be delighted to hear from you! Any personal information you provide will only be used to follow up with you about your message. We understand that you are only consenting to this specific use of your information and your data will not be shared with any third parties. For more information about how the University of Cambridge handles your personal information, and your rights under data protection legislation, please see https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/general-data - [Posts](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/posts/) - [Home](https://newblog.cambridgescp.com/) [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)