A Joint Classical Association

Extract

Arecent article in Greece and Rome on the formation of a school Virgil Society has had repercussions in the Potteries area of north Staffordshire which I think may interest other readers. When the article first appeared one of the sixth-form boys studying Classics at this school asked if we might start our own Virgil Society. I mentioned this suggestion to our headmaster, himself a Classical scholar, and he was able to show us some of the literature sent out by the Virgil Society. But a discussion in the sixth form soon made it clear that the boys, while keen on forming a society, did not wish to see it limited in scope. They envisaged the whole realm of Greece and Rome as their arena. With such a wide field in view it was obvious that the resources of one school would be severely strained to provide lectures, talks, and discussions at anything like frequent intervals, and permission was sought and obtained to invite representatives of two girls' schools and one boys' school, all situated fairly near to us, to an informal meeting to discuss ideas.

That meeting in November 1945 was a great success. The representatives, staff and pupils, were enthusiastic to form some such society, which should take for its field of operations the whole life of the ancient classical world. We elected a committee of two representatives from each school, stipulating that not more than one should be a member of the staff, and invited all the other secondary grammar schools within easy travelling distance.