It is a rare privilege, especially in our area, to have the opportunity to take Classical Greek at GCSE and one which is especially significant for any girl who has a special liking and aptitude for Latin, or who is joining the School in Year 10 and has not hitherto had any acquaintance with the Ancient World.

Greek mirrors Latin in the GCSE course, with study of language and a first encounter with very ancient texts.  The latter often comprises a reading of some drama, which the Greeks invented and for which they are still justly famous.  The frequency with which these plays are still staged, because of the light they shed on human problems, shows just how influential they are and how important it is for a truly rounded education to have some knowledge of them.

The Greek language is challenging with its different alphabet and can often be especially appealing to the very able.  Yet this essential difference is quickly absorbed and the familiarity of vocabulary, because of the (largely unknown) influence it has had on English and the understanding it can provide of our own language, is readily and quickly appreciated.  Philosophy and systems of government, medicine, astronomy and mathematics all originated in Classical Greece and a study of these beginnings materially affects how we view our present and cope with our future.  To date, no pupil has achieved less than an A grade at GCSE.