I am delighted to be bringing you the Spring 2025 issue of our Classics Matters newsletter.
We’ve had a challenging start to the year as a discipline. You may have seen the announcement in mid-December that the Government was ending the Latin Excellence Programme (LEP) at a contract break-point rather than fulfilling the original four year commitment. LEP aimed to increase uptake of Latin at Key Stage 3, with the goal of more students undertaking GCSEs. We have been in close discussions with the LEP, the Department of Education and other parties to put together plans for supporting those young people doing GCSEs this year and next. Classics for All has committed to funding the training and support for these pupils to the end of this academic year and are still discussing the broader package of support that can be put in place by the Classics education community to transition these schools into continuing Latin on the curriculum sustainably.
We have an exciting programme of events coming up this year (page 4), and in this issue we have a review of last September’s Overboard! It really was a fabulous evening, which we’ll be holding this event again in September and I do hope you can join us. We are incredibly grateful to Linklaters for their continued sponsorship of this event.
At Classics for All we can be greater than the sum of our parts through collaborating with partners. On page 10 you can read all about the brilliant event run by the University of Leicester to engage pupils with the ancient world. Our East Midlands Network, coordinated by Dr Jane Ainsworth, is based at the University, and by working in partnership we can reach even more children studying in state schools.
At our Gala dinner in 2021 our fabulous supporters pledged funds towards bursaries for young people from low-income backgrounds heading to university to study Classics. The goal was that the bursary would relieve some financial pressure in their first year, enabling them to focus on the transition to Higher Education. On pages 6-7 you can hear from some of those students about their Classics journey and how their Classics for All Bursary has helped them.
With warm wishes,
Jo Hobbs MBE
Chief Executive