1.1 Introduction to Latin

Welcome from Mr McNally

Before we begin, here's a short introduction to Classics and why it's such an exciting subject to study:

Why Study Latin?

Latin lets you enter a world that has shaped our own. It is the language of Roman politics, law, myth and art, and it speaks in many voices: the cut and thrust of Cicero's rhetoric, Tacitus' cool moral analysis, Virgil's wide-ranging epic in the Aeneid, Catullus' sharp and self-aware love poetry. We study Latin to meet that world on its own terms, to handle a precise and demanding language, and to read great literature in the words its authors chose.

The Three Ls

L

Language

Learn a finely structured system where meaning lives in endings and word order
Build habits of accuracy, attention to detail and clear reasoning
Tackle real problems of translation and interpretation, not exercises made up to be easy

L

Literature

Read Roman authors in their own voices, not only in paraphrase
Study style, metre, rhetoric and narrative technique with evidence on the page
Ask what texts say about power, freedom, identity, love, duty and grief

L

Life

Think with the Romans about government, citizenship, war and justice
Trace ideas that still shape Europe and the wider world
Carry a durable curiosity that enriches study, work and culture long after exams

Click each card to explore what Latin offers

The Epic Journey of Latin

From seven hills to seven continents - Latin's remarkable story through time:

753 BC

The Foundation

100 BC - 100 AD

The Golden Age

500 - 1500

Universal Language

1500 - 1900

The British Tradition

1960

The Turning Point

Today

The Renaissance

Click on any era to explore its story

753 BC

The Foundation

Latin begins among farmers and shepherds in Latium. One dialect among hundreds in Italy.

100 BC - 100 AD

The Golden Age

Cicero perfects Latin prose. Caesar writes his Commentaries. Virgil creates the Aeneid. Latin becomes the supreme language of law, literature, and power.

500 - 1500

Universal Language

Every educated European thinks, writes, and argues in Latin. Universities from Oxford (1096) to Bologna (1088) teach exclusively in Latin. It's the internet of the medieval world.

1500 - 1900

The British Tradition

Latin becomes the cornerstone of British education. Every grammar school teaches it. Oxford and Cambridge require it for entry. Newton writes Principia Mathematica in Latin. Darwin names species in Latin.

1960

The Turning Point

Oxford and Cambridge drop compulsory Latin. In 1950, 60,000 students took O-Level Latin. By 1970, just 15,000. Latin shifts from requirement to choice.

Today

The Renaissance

10,000+ students take GCSE Latin annually - and growing. No longer compulsory but chosen. Those who study it stand out precisely because so few do. Latin has become what it always was: a mark of serious intellectual ambition.

Latin in British Education: A Mark of Distinction

For 900 years, from medieval monasteries to Victorian public schools, Latin was the foundation of British education. Every Prime Minister until 1964 studied Latin. Every judge, every doctor, every scholar. Today, precisely because it's rare, Latin marks you as someone who chose the harder path, who values depth over breadth, who can handle real intellectual challenge.

900+ Years at Oxford

10,000+ UK Students Today

2% Of UK Students Study Latin

Your Journey Begins

This term, you'll start with the foundations - verbs that bring Latin to life, nouns that build sentences, and the logical patterns that make everything click. You won't just learn about Latin; you'll think in Latin.

By Christmas, you'll be reading real Latin sentences. By next summer, simple stories. By the time you finish the course, you'll have the keys to 2,000 years of literature, from Caesar's campaigns to Newton's physics, all in the original language.

"Non scholae sed vitae discimus"
We learn not for school, but for life. Welcome to Latin!

Welcome to Latin!