Scotland

Network Co-ordinator: Alex Imrie, [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter: @CAScotia & @HCAatEdinburgh 

National Monument Calton Hill

For decades, classics has been on the fringes of Scotland’s schools. Only around 500-600 pupils sit exams in Latin or classical studies annually, mostly from fee-paying schools. In 2017, CASN was founded to address this gap, offering free Continuing Professional Development, training and resources for any state school interested in teaching classical subjects. The network serves 32 local authority areas, working across four different universities.

Since 2017, we have built bridges between schools, universities and local authorities, encouraging the sustainable growth of classics in schools for pupils from all backgrounds. To date, our key achievements include:

  • working with 19 primary schools across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Argyll and Bute, to introduce Latin on the curriculum or as an after-school club.
  • engaging with 38 secondary schools across Scotland, ranging from Higher Classical Studies, Classics at National 3-5 and nine modules or enrichment as part of Broad General Education (BGE) for pupils at levels 1-3, the Scottish equivalent of Key Stage 3.
  • setting up a national network for classics teachers that meets twice annually to share experiences and resources, drawing teachers and university lecturers closer together.
  • revising existing teaching materials for the Higher Classical Studies syllabus, and liaising with the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding classical languages.
  • supporting four qualified teachers to retrain and gather sufficient credits to certify as Classical Studies.
  • running a Greek and Latin Summer School.
  • successfully hosting the CASN Online seminar series, featuring seven virtual sessions on topics from Egyptian Hieroglyphs to classical art for 270 teachers and students. Sessions on Greek and Latin proved dependably popular, with 88 attendees between them, while Hieroglyphs attracted 86 alone.  The seminar series also proved a useful tool in recruitment for the Network’s summer school, Ancient Voices.
  • organising a classics competition in Fife and Dundee as part of work funded by the Rank Foundation.
  • developing an Ancient Environments Module at University of St Andrews which can be taught to pupils at S3 (aged 11-14)  by non-specialist humanities teachers. 

In 2023-4 we will encourage more schools to pilot extra-curricular classics clubs as a stepping-stone towards offering classics on the curriculum. Plans include:  

  • developing a free CASN series of online seminars introducing topics such as classical languages, ancient history, classical archaeology and classical reception.
  • recruiting new primary and secondary schools to the Scottish network.
  • collaboration with the National Museums of Scotland on a video and resource packs to complement the Higher Classical Studies syllabus.
  • hosting Continuing Professional Development afternoons bringing teachers and university academics together.
  • training up new teachers to teach classical studies through the General Teaching Council of Scotland accreditation scheme.

 

If you are interested in introducing classics in your school, please contact Alex Imrie.

 

 

THE CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF SCOTLAND SCHOOLS' NETWORK HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY:  The Hugh Fraser Foundation