North West

Network Co-ordinator: Joanne McNamara, [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @ClassicsNorth
Follow us on Facebook: @ClassicsNetworkNorth

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The North West Network, originally named the Liverpool College Classics Network, was established in 2016 to support the growth of classics teaching in state schools in the North West. Since 2016, Liverpool College and The University of Liverpool have retained a shared responsibility for running Liverpool’s successful and growing Greek school, which offers pupils the opportunity to study GCSE and A Level Greek.

Since inception we have:

supported 45 primary schools in the region to introduce classics from scratch or sustain existing teaching. New recruits include schools serving areas of high disadvantage including Banks Road, Mersey Park and St Luke's Formby.
supported 41 secondary schools with plans for classics teaching at Key Stage 3, GCSE and A Level, either on the curriculum or as a club.
launched a programme encouraging secondary pupils to read and respond to stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
continued to offer the Liverpool Greek Academy, despite disruption owing to the pandemic. Numbers for 2021 included 12 students in the beginners’ class, eight in the GCSE and three in the A level classes. Classes are oversubscribed for autumn 2021 with 32 students currently registered for the beginners’ course and ten students signed up for AS Level Greek.
delivered local CPD and outreach events for teachers and pupils. in 2021 the network led an etymology taster session attracting 55 schools from across the North.

In 2023-4 our aims are to:

support existing primary schools to develop and sustain their Latin teaching and targeting new schools in areas of low engagement, such as Lancashire, Cumbria and West Cheshire.
recruit three new primary schools and three new secondary schools to embed classics on the curriculum, targeting Key Stage 3 in particular.
sustain the Greek Academy with students successfully completing AS and A Level exams.

If you are interested in introducing or expanding the teaching of classics in your schools with pupils of all ages and abilities please get in touch with us. We would love to hear from you and all the support we offer is free.

The North West Network is generously sponsored by: The Rushworth Foundation which supports music, the arts and education in Liverpool; The Rimmer Memorial Trust, The Virgine Keuleyan Charitable Trust; and Cecil Pilkinton Trust

We invite individual or corporate sponsorship of our regional networks. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch at [email protected].