Various Courses for Teachers

Bespoke 1 or 2 week courses for people new to Latin teaching. 

We have several courses intended to assist those new to Latin teaching who:

  • Have been recruited into schools straight out of universities without any formal teacher training
  • Are about to embark on or indeed have just completed a PGCE (or equivalent) – we try to incorporate relevant material which the PGCE courses are unlikely to have to have time to focus on
  • Have less “traditional” degrees and need to develop their Latin before teaching it to an advanced level
  • Have fairly secure Latin and want to acquire working knowledge of “how it all works” for Latin teaching
  • Are teachers of other subjects but have just started teaching Latin, or are just about to start

All courses last one week (starting on each Monday though arriving the Sunday before to get settled in) but you can “mix and match” and stay for the fortnight. (And enjoy all the mid-weekend community feel and an optional trip to Hadrian’s Wall.) Some courses are simply intended to improve your language if this is needed before you teach it; others, for those with stronger language to begin with, are focused more on the actual teaching of the subject from beginners through the GCSE, and then (in week 2) through to A Level. Don’t worry about exactly which teachers’ course you will take if you sign up – this is discussed directly with each individual who has signed up shortly before the start of Camp.

Teachers have often found their schools willing to help with the fees and we have other sources of funding which can be considered if schools cannot help.

A typical day involves three 1-hour group sessions with various work and preparation set to do in between. We also provide an exciting array of speakers, trips and other events which all delegates have full access to, and the tutor team consists almost entirely of experienced practising Classics teachers who you will get plenty of opportunity to speak to and ask questions

Most courses are offered in both weeks. We anticipate lots of people staying with us and completing two courses over the fortnight. They are set up to enable week 1 to flow naturally into week 2, without anyone coming for just week 2 being disadvantaged. We will discuss which course is most suitable with each individual signing up but a key intention is to be as flexible as possible.

Our different courses for teachers are:

Intense Beginners 1 runs just in week one and Intense Beginners 2 (which picks up exactly where week 1 left off) runs just in week two. This means that a total beginner can come for just week 1 or stay for both weeks, depending on their needs, or the odd very near-beginner could come just for week 2. (We would send the materials from week 1 so that you could double check that you’re familiar with it all before arriving.)

The Near-beginners, Intermediate and Advanced courses run for both weeks but covering different texts in week 2. This means that people can i) join any of these groups in either week, ii) join any of these groups and stay for both weeks or iii) join one group in week 1 and “move up” to another in week 2 if they wish to move at a faster pace. Depending on numbers of teachers opting in, these groups may also have school students at roughly the same level. (This is just for information – we do not see any concerns with this.)

We hope that the Teaching Latin up to GCSE will run in both weeks (identical course each week) if there is enough demand, but we may end up just running it for week one if numbers are lower than expected or negotiating with individuals if one week is oversubscribed and the other undersubscribed. You might wish to attend this course for one of the weeks and one of the courses just reading texts to improve on your own Latin, if you are not yourself going to be teaching A Level.

The Teaching Latin A Level will only run in week 2. One imagines that a lot of people with more secure Latin will attend the GCSE course in week 1 then A Level in week 2 but you could just come for week 2.

I have been teaching MFL for over 30 years but as a novice Latin teacher with no formal training and only a couple of years’ experience, I found the introductions to the CLC and the tips for teaching Latin for examinations extremely useful – supremely practical and accompanied by a wealth of examples. The discussion of pedagogy and illustration of class-based techniques were delivered by a widely experienced, insightful and supportive professional who was an enthusiast for his subject and who took obvious delight in passing on his expertise to those who shared his Classics calling.

 The pace of delivery, the sense of humour and the systematic approach to the training were a delight to work with. It was inclusive in manner, jocular but business-like, well informed without being distant, and wonderfully honest and un-PC in his forthright opinions – encouraging a realistically reflective approach to issues around the most effective ways of teaching Latin. 

 I can honestly say that in 35 years of teaching, with its attendant hours of often irrelevant and unproductive INSET sessions, this training has provided me with the most practical pedagogical support and useful resources, as well as the most confidence subsequently to draw up schemes of work, plan productive lessons and generally be an effective teacher. It was frequently challenging, but also upbuilding, and always – to use the Director’s own phrase – “geeky fun.”

(Michael Wager, teachers’ group 2019)

We would hope that many teachers applying for the course would be at least partially funded by their school. If this is not possible, bursaries of up to 100% of the fees are negotiable; thanks to generous support from Classics For All and the Classical Association, we have funds specifically to support teachers.