Caledonia resurgens: reflections on the campaign to revive Classics in Scotland

In late 2017, the Classical Association of Scotland, in association with Classics for All, hired a co-ordinator to commence a programme of outreach and public engagement activities across the country. In this article, the national outreach co-ordinator reflects on the progress made to date, the difficulties faced, and hopes and plans for the future.

Modern Scotland has a long association with Classics. The ancient world was a primary inspiration for the intellectuals of the Scottish Enlightenment, with Edinburgh routinely referred to as the ‘Athens of the North’; it has served as a model for Scotland's urban landscape; Scots law remains indebted to Roman jurisprudence; Caledonian resistance against the Roman Empire has been a consistent narrative in the popular imagination for centuries. Latin continues to permeate daily life in Scotland: it is inscribed on myriad public buildings, borne in clan mottos and even used by some football teams.

Despite the multitude of ways that the ancient world has been received throughout Scottish history, however, it is fair to say that the subject has been in decline for a considerable period. In the 2017-18 academic session, only 525 entries were recorded for examination in Classical Studies (equivalent to Classical Civilisation in England) nationwide (78 at National 5; 400 at Higher; 47 at Advanced Higher).¹ Latin fared only marginally better, with 660 entries nationwide (390 at National 5; 226 at Higher; 44 at Advanced Higher)². These represent a statistically insignificant percentage of the national totals, between 0.03% and 0.2% of entries recorded in the 2017-18 session for exams in Scotland³.

These figures are even more stark when it is noted both that these entries do not represent individual candidates (since several pupils obviously sit both Latin and Classical Studies), and that most of these candidates come from schools in the private sector. In a survey of Scottish schools undertaken by the Classical Association of Scotland in 2017, there were 18 state schools offering Classical Studies at any level, with even fewer of these (11) offering any form of Latin teaching. Most of these are notably precarious, dependent on single-teacher departments, meaning that pupils only get the chance to study the subjects ab initio as ‘crash’ options in their final years. Furthermore, at least two of the centres currently offering classical subjects are at risk of disappearing as a result of staff retiring without replacement. This is compared with 33 independent schools that offer both Latin and Classical Studies at all levels as standard. There is simply no option whatsoever to study Classics for the vast majority of young learners in Scotland and if left unchecked, this will most likely result in the disappearance of classical subjects from state education entirely, with the discipline becoming the preserve of a fee-paying minority.

The Classical Association of Scotland (CAS) has committed to addressing this discrepancy. In mid-2017, CAS secured generous funding from Classics for All to prevent the decline from becoming terminal. Central to this process was the recruitment of a national outreach co-ordinator to oversee a programme of initiatives designed to reinvigorate the discipline across Scotland at all levels, a job that I was honoured to commence in late September 2017. My own entry into Classics was what is often classed now as ‘non-traditional’: a first-generation university attendee who holds a fierce interest in the world of antiquity, but who had no chance to engage formally with it throughout the course of my state school education. While my story is by no means unique, I believe that it has given me a valuable perspective on the inequality of access surrounding Classics in the Scottish education system.

Working in consultation with both the CAS national committee and staff at Classics for All, it was agreed that the campaign in Scotland would have to be both multifaceted and focused on sustainable long-term progress rather than short-term gains alone. To that end, since late 2017, we have commenced work in a number of areas to raise awareness of classical subjects as options for young learners, to support existing centres through the creation and consolidation of teaching materials, and to encourage new centres to introduce Latin and/or Classical Studies into their diet of courses. In what follows, I will reflect upon the actions that the ‘CAS Schools Network’ has undertaken at all levels, the obstacles that we have encountered, and our plans for the future.

Latin in the Primary Curriculum

From our earliest discussions, we concluded that there should be an emphasis on primary education in the short term. This was decided for numerous reasons. Since our campaign is committed to instilling an interest in the ancient world at all levels, primary education represents an invaluable avenue for building enthusiasm among pupils at a formative stage, something that can be taken forward into the secondary phase, thus building an increasing justification for introducing and extending the provision of classical subjects within the secondary school setting.

Our intention was to inject Classics into curricular teaching time, where possible, by offering a Latin course targeted at pupils between Primary 5 and Primary 7 (roughly equivalent to Key Stage 2 in England). As part of its national Curriculum for Excellence, the Scottish Government committed to a new approach designed to bolster language learning and teaching, the Languages 1 + 2 policy, in 2011 (Scottish Government, 2012). Using this framework, young learners commence with English (‘L1’) and begin to learn a second language (‘L2’) from the early years of primary school. Importantly, the teacher need not be an expert in the additional languages, but only need learn enough to lead the course material in question. A third language (‘L3’) is introduced between Primary 5-7. The L3 option is intended to encourage interdisciplinary teaching lasting around 8-10 weeks, with an emphasis on cultural and historical subjects.

The blend of linguistic and social focuses means that Latin represents a perfectly appropriate option for introduction at L3. Identifying this area of potential, work was undertaken by Lee Baker (a Classics teacher from Glasgow) and Arlene Holmes-Henderson (a Classics Education researcher with King's College London) to construct a template module to fit the expectations and outcomes of the 1 + 2 policy, utilising elements and resources from Barbara Bell's Minimus Latin course book and the Maximum Classics course designed by Charlie Andrew⁴. This has pre-empted the difficulty that many teachers would face in creating lesson plans of their own, is predicated on a bank of materials that are commonly available, and thus ensures that schools across Scotland have access to a user-friendly programme of lessons and activities immediately at their disposal that are already in line with current Scottish Government policy.

Training for teachers was initially planned to function as a two-tier strategy, employing ‘Train the Trainers’ sessions. In these classes, qualified individuals would mentor a small number of teachers in each region, with the expectation that they would be able to go on and mentor their colleagues. It was agreed that this represented both a cost-effective mode of training, and one that allowed local authorities to plan their internal training programmes with a greater degree of flexibility, without a requirement to defer continually to expert Latinists.

With the structure of a course already plotted, I was able to begin seeking interested schools to introduce and trial the module. In the early months of our campaign, I was conscious of the need to balance the material necessities of schools in building resources for Latin from effective zero on the one hand, and the requirement to craft proposals to Classics for All that offer value for money on the other. With this concern in mind, I agreed with the CAS committee that the most sensible policy was to approach local authorities and try to recruit groups of schools with the assistance of council officers. I therefore began to contact a number of local authorities to seek a meeting with the relevant language officers, eventually securing appointments with Glasgow City, Edinburgh City, Aberdeen City and East Ayrshire councils.

Knowing that the language curriculum at this stage in Scotland is already crowded (with Modern European Languages competing for space alongside increasingly popular options such as Gaelic and Mandarin) it was evident that there would have to be an explicit justification for Latin's place in the modern foreign languages framework. Consequently, prior to my meetings with local authority representatives, I prepared a ‘pitch’ document that outlined a positive case for the inclusion of Latin into the primary curriculum. This was divided into three parts. Firstly, I outlined the linguistic benefit for English speakers, noting the increasingly recognised correlation between Latin tuition and improved English literacy (Holmes-Henderson & Tempest, 2018; Bracke, 2016; Ashmore & Madden, 1990). Secondly, I highlighted the potential gains in cultural capital that can be acquired through studying classical subjects (Pelling & Morgan, 2010; Reedy, 1988). Finally, I stressed that Latin represents an unusually egalitarian option for young learners: in the vast majority of cases, pupils will have no previous exposure to the language, limiting the potential for divergent abilities between peers; furthermore, the deductive quality of Latin learning, compared to modern languages, means that it presents an ideal option both for English as an Alternative Language (EAL) pupils and those with additional learning needs, such as dyslexia, who are already required to deconstruct English in a particular way (Thomson, 2013).

Without fail, the staff that I liaised with in each local authority were open to our approach and were enthusiastic at the prospect of offering Latin and Classics in their regions. This was particularly the case in Glasgow, whose officers continue to be energetic contacts, and where the council had enjoyed a previous relationship with volunteers working out of the University of Glasgow with the Iris Project, offering lessons to schools in areas that score highly in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)⁵.

While this approach seemed to garner initial success, it has proven overall to be a disappointingly inefficient model. On the one hand, working via the syphon of the local authorities meant that we were able to utilise their internal communications channels to publicise our campaign to a high number of schools across a geographically diverse area. On the other hand, though, this kept us at an unhelpful distance from the centres themselves. As the local authorities inevitably became occupied with other tasks and concerns, it became increasingly difficult to get information regarding any schools that expressed interest, or even to follow up the initial publicity with more targeted approaches to state centres. Both Aberdeen and Edinburgh city councils expressed a desire to be kept informed of the project's progress, but were unable to assist us in pinning down schools to pilot our Latin programme, owing to pre-existing difficulties in ensuring even a consistent provision of L2 language options across their authority areas. East Ayrshire initially came on board with a pledge of five schools, but owing to a combination of financial and time pressures, they were unable to co-ordinate their target schools and so have withdrawn temporarily. Glasgow City Council initially planned for a cluster of ten schools, but found the logistics of the necessary training difficult to navigate (a situation compounded by unrest in the local context caused by industrial action by the Educational Institute of Scotland trade union over pay and conditions). Following this, the local authority has adapted its training model and is introducing smaller numbers of schools in batches (there are currently two centres being inducted at time of writing), with the first pupils set to commence learning Latin after Easter 2019. This is not to say that the strategy of working via local authorities has proven fruitless, though. Meetings with council officers have given the CAS a more localised sense of the educational landscape in these regions, and have given me valuable insight in how to target state centres across Scotland. Indeed, it seems that even in an educational context beginning from effective zero, it is better to engage in a more targeted approach towards individual centres rather than trying to recruit schools in bulk.

Moving forward, since the beginning of 2019, I have changed to a more direct strategy, targeting individual schools or teachers that have shown interest. This has resulted in the successful commencement of a programme in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, to introduce Latin L3 which will begin after Easter, similar to the programme in Glasgow. I have also been liaising with a teacher who will be starting work at a school in Angus in the new academic year 2019-20. While there has been some time slippage following on from our issues in navigating local authority bureaucracy, we will have three schools (c. 150 pupils) commencing formal curricular teaching of Latin before Summer 2019, with more expected in subsequent months across three local authority areas.

After-School Clubs

An increasingly important pillar of our approach to Classics in primary schools has been investigating the scope for extra-curricular clubs. While this was initially regarded as a secondary priority, owing to our desire to insert Classics into curricular teaching, the sheer sparsity of opportunity to engage with the discipline across Scotland has caused me to reconsider this position. Over the course of the last 12 months, I have therefore started to offer more explicit assistance with centres or individuals who were interested in commencing after-school clubs in Classics. In my most recent discussion with Edinburgh City Council, representatives voiced a desire to explore this option, building on recent outreach activities undertaken by students from the University of Edinburgh's Literacy Through Latin project⁶.

Offering extra-curricular options to schools represents an attractive proposition in the Scottish context for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it offers schools a method to trial classes in the subject without committing time or resources from their already crowded curricular time (especially if they already have another L3 unit in operation). Secondly, it is a more flexible option inasmuch as the class leader need not necessarily be a teacher accredited by the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS).

Over the past year, I have been in contact with two individuals keen to lead an after-school club in Classics. The first of these is a qualified primary school teacher in Glasgow, who has offered a small number of extra-curricular classes to pupils at his school⁷. In this case, the teacher has a background in Classics and late antique history to postgraduate masters’ level, and so already possesses an attuned sense of the subject material that he would like to deliver to his class.

The second individual that I have worked with has required more attention and assistance. In summer 2018, I was contacted by a parent in Helensburgh, on the west coast of Scotland, who had found news of the CAS Schools Network via the Classics for All webpage. Like myself, her entry to Classics has been non-traditional: a mature student with the Open University who has found learning Latin to be transformative in helping her to overcome the challenges of her own dyslexia diagnosis. She has been extremely proactive in seeking input from teachers and academics alike, and is in the process of shaping her first term's diet of lessons. I have offered both creative and administrative assistance where appropriate, and took the step of bringing the club to the attention of the local authority, Argyll and Bute Council, who have given the initiative their formal support. What started as a desire to offer a Classics club to the school where her own children study has consequently increased in scale, and from August 2019 will be a pilot club for the entire Helensburgh and Lomond catchment area.

This experience has been invaluable in reinforcing my perception that the reinvigoration of Classics in Scotland cannot derive wholly from one sector, be that school teachers or university academics. On the contrary, professional classicists must be willing and able to reach out beyond their walls to engage with anyone who has an interest in the discipline. Relying on an already busy teacher in Helensburgh to lead an after-school club formally would not only have jeopardised the initiative's existence, but would also have been to do a grievous disservice to the class leader, who is more than capable of educating and enthusing children about Classics, despite her ‘amateur’ status.

Classics in Secondary Education

As noted at the outset of this article, the delivery of classical subjects within state secondary schools is highly inconsistent. We have been challenged not only with injecting Classics into centres that have no current provision, but also with supporting those few schools that do, to prevent further shrinkage. Central to our efforts in this area is a growing network of Classics teachers from across Scotland. This network began with a group of predominantly independent schools around Glasgow and South Lanarkshire. In recent years, however, it has sought to include schools from further afield, and now welcomes any centre in Scotland that offers Classics or is even interested in introducing it. As a repository of classroom experience and pedagogical expertise, it is invaluable to our national objectives, and so I have sought to channel the majority of our secondary level initiatives through its members.

Since both Latin and Classical Studies are GTCS recognised subjects with SQA syllabi, we have concentrated on two key areas over the past 18 months: material development and continuing professional development (CPD). In the case of the former, we were aware that one element that might deter schools from expanding their Classics provision is a fear regarding the work necessary to develop new materials to deliver to pupils. I also felt that the sparsity of Classics provision of Scotland could be turned to our advantage in this respect, in that we have the opportunity to develop core materials centrally, and thereby offer a greater level of consistency in teaching between geographically disparate centres, which will make mentoring and equipping new schools significantly easier in the days to come.

To that end, I convened a working group of teachers from the network to consolidate materials pertaining to the Classical Studies syllabus. Once this package of materials was complete, I involved university academics in a proofing scheme. The academics’ purpose was not to alter the syllabus, but rather to offer input on recent developments in research and bibliography. The finished product is therefore pedagogically sound and includes elements informed by the latest research in the field. While this has similarly resulted in a slight time lag in preparing the final documentation, I have found it a valuable avenue for fostering greater communications between school and university staff, something that has been lacking in recent years. This approach has ensured that both branches are aware of each other and working together harmoniously and with explicit goals, reducing the risk of either overstepping their area of expertise.

This initiative has addressed the subject matter at the level assessed by the SQA, but it became clear through consultation with the teachers’ network that there was a blind spot in secondary provision that was more difficult to address, namely fitting classical subjects into the first three years of secondary education, known as the Broad General Education (BGE). This phase of secondary provision stresses breadth of learning as much as subject-specific provision, judged against nationally-set experiences and outcomes (Education Scotland, 2012).

While Classics does not have a subject-specific stream in most Scottish schools, we are fortunate that modules at BGE can be led by non-specialist teachers. This offers schools the chance to trial classical subjects in a relatively safe and low-stakes environment. We have therefore committed to developing a range of pre-packaged units that can be offered to schools to trial, and can be integrated with other subject areas (such as History, English and Drama). Once again, I have found it prudent to spread the workload and encourage cooperation between schools and universities. In this instance, CAS has asked Classics departments at Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews Universities to consider which elements of their current research might be transformable into school level units. Academics will then send their materials to the teachers’ network, whose members will transform them into courses that meet the outcomes of BGE, and are in line with current pedagogy. While this is in its early stages, it has proven useful both in forging more positive and productive ties between schools and universities, and has, I believe, democratised the relationship between secondary and tertiary institutions, to some degree.

With material consolidation underway, we have been able to begin addressing the other outstanding conundrum facing Classics in Scotland, specifically a shortage of GTCS-recognised teachers. Without these, we cannot introduce Classics into secondary schools for assessment. While there is no quick fix to this situation, we have sought to address it in a couple of ways: firstly, engaging with teacher training centres in Scotland to re-introduce classical subjects as specialist options (more on this below), and secondly, by supporting current teachers in other subjects to acquire the necessary credit to teach Classics formally. After some negotiation, I was able to agree with Classics for All that we would financially support 50% of teachers’ costs in gaining relevant credit through the Open University to make them eligible for GTCS recognition in Classical Studies. We commenced our first trial of this in late 2018 with a teacher of History and Modern Studies in South Ayrshire and, from August 2019, he will offer units in Classical Studies to a state school that has previously had no such provision. Looking forward, this is an initiative that I will be publicising further; even though there is an obvious time delay between support and introduction, it remains an attractive model for introducing classical subjects for schools with no previous provision, since it rewards teachers for engaging with us, while simultaneously developing their professional profiles.

Higher Education/Teacher Training

In one way, the university sector has proven the hardest area to enthuse about our agenda, since none of Scotland's major institutions currently struggle to enrol students, enjoying global recruitment reach. That said, with the rising prominence of impact within the Research Excellence Framework, and increasing attention devoted to public engagement, university staff are becoming more interested in assisting the revival of Classics across Scotland.

One of the most immediate problems we faced in this area was the obvious disjoint between schools and universities across the country. During my first meeting with the secondary teachers’ network, there was a commonly voiced concern that universities were too aloof, were unaware of the struggles faced in the school context, and were indifferent in any case, owing to their continued success in gathering students from the rest of the UK and beyond. By contrast, however, in my discussions with Scottish universities, it was clear that there were a number of staff, particularly younger members of faculty, who were eager to assist in any way they could, but felt detached from the wider school system. As someone who has come through both state school and the Scottish higher education system, this was an incredibly frustrating impasse that I felt had to be overcome as a priority.

Over the course of a year, I have sought to build bridges between institutions in Scotland, to improve communications between all levels of Classics provision, and to utilise the wealth and facilities of universities to support state schools that enjoy no such security in their provision of classical subjects. This initiative has been served by encouraging schools and universities to collaborate in the creation of new materials, noted above, but also by utilising the expertise present in universities to support the ongoing CPD of new and current teachers. The University of Edinburgh has taken an early lead in this respect, committing to annual sessions that may be paired alongside the meetings of the teachers’ network. Furthermore, the Edinburgh branch of CAS has committed to including presentations by teachers into its diet of research papers, meaning that the wider Classics community in the region will be better informed of developments in the school context, allowing them to assist in a more informed manner. It is my hope that the other local branches of CAS will follow suit.

Our most important development in the Higher Education sector so far, however, has been in connection with teacher training. When I started my position in 2017, there had been no path for Classics graduates to begin teacher training in Scotland for around a decade. Indeed, those who wanted to teach in Scotland were required to study for a PGCE at one of the English centres offering Classics, only to have to gain separate GTCS recognition to teach in Scottish schools. This obviously presented a frustrating obstacle for candidates, as well as a deterrent for any schools contemplating the introduction of Classics as a subject option.

It was clear from the outset that without this situation changing, the future of Classics in Scotland would always be in jeopardy, since there would be no dependable source of teachers with relevant training for the Scottish curriculum. Consequently, I began to investigate the potential for reintroducing classical subjects as a PGDE option at Scotland's teacher training centres. After some initial research, I concluded that the Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh presented the best option for two reasons: firstly, staff in Classics at the university had made repeated attempts to work with Moray House to reintroduce the subject as an option and, secondly, I was fortunate in my enquiries to make the acquaintance of a newly recruited professor whose interest in pluriliteracy in young learners made her exceptionally open to the prospect of Latin language in particular.

Working alongside colleagues in Classics and Education at Moray House, we were able to present a compelling case to reintroduce classical subjects into teacher training at Edinburgh. The committee meetings that I attended in this respect were often challenging for me, facing the requirement to conceptualise and package our subject in a highly corporate manner, but they were nevertheless further illuminating on the various restrictions and Scottish Government pressures on teacher training. Following consultation with the teachers’ network and a survey of Classics teacher vacancies from across the UK, it was decided that the new PGDE structure should offer routes in Latin as a single specialist option, and Latin and Classical Studies as a dual specialist option⁸. Our contacts at Moray House were utterly invaluable in navigating the administrative labyrinth to completion, and have shown as much dedication to the survival of the subject in Scotland as any classicist. It was with great pride, therefore, that we offered our first information session on the newly-minted PGDE programme in March 2019, with a view to accepting first intake in September. Through the creation of new Classics teachers, we can begin to forestall the closure of departments across Scotland, and schools will soon be able to consider expanding single-member departments with the arrival of newly-qualified teachers. This development has arrived far more quickly than we anticipated, and is testimony to the undercurrent of interest in Classics across Scotland that is, at present, being systemically underexploited.

General Challenges

The CAS Schools Network has enjoyed a significant level of success over the past 18 months, considering its starting position. While there have been administrative delays and time slippage, particularly in our primary school agenda, this is only to be expected in a campaign that includes representatives from multiple sectors. Being used to working on my own, however, be it in my studies or teaching work, I have had to recalibrate my expectations on multiple occasions. Nevertheless, we are well underway to making Classics a more commonly available and accessible subject across Scotland.

A couple of larger issues remain prevalent. The first of these concerns the structural differences between Scotland and England, and the lack of crossover in their curricula. This has meant an inevitable degree of isolation in my activities, being the only co-ordinator across 32 local authorities. It has also had implications when dealing with other agencies interested in bolstering Classics as a subject. I have found that our work has been more effective when there has been strict message discipline maintained between advocacy groups in Scotland. Classics for All has been excellent in subordinating their presence via CAS, so that as the organisation on the ground, we are constantly abreast of interested centres and individuals. By contrast, when some other groups have visited or written about the situation in Scotland, this has created slight confusion among potential new centres regarding who they will be working with and what support they might expect to receive. Moving forward, it seems clear that efforts across the country must be as centralised as possible, and CAS must remain the primary focal point for developments in Scotland, at least while the campaign is in its formative stages.

More seriously, we remain faced with the public perception that Classics is a discipline only for the moneyed classes, or those of a particularly privileged social background. This is hardly unique to Scotland, but it does make our efforts to introduce classical subjects from scratch more difficult. We are, of course, combatting this with our publicity work, our discussions with local authorities and through targeting schools that break with the stereotype of Classics across the country. This is one area, however, where constant work will be required.

It has been my experience that preconceptions surrounding Classics derive more from parents than from children themselves, who are simply keen to try a new subject, more often than not. Consequently, my hope moving forward is that, through extending our extra-curricular initiatives, my colleagues and I will have greater opportunity to liaise with parents, demonstrating that, far from exclusionary, Classics can be an exceptionally non-sectarian subject option for children of any background or ability. I have also been endeavouring to forge contacts with local and national press organisations, and I plan to utilise these avenues to vocalise a new narrative regarding Classics across Scotland.

Looking to the Future

The CAS Schools Network remains in its infancy and there is much still to be done. Over the coming year, we are planning to re-examine the situation in primary education. We remain committed to introducing L3 Latin into curricular teaching time, with a view to securing small clusters of schools in a number of local authority areas. We are targeting groups of schools, rather than solely individual centres, to increase peer-to-peer support networks and to reduce any feelings of isolation among schools trialling Latin for the first time.

In secondary education, we will continue to work with colleagues from schools and universities to build a centrally accessible bank of teaching materials that current and new centres may use. Our priority for the 2019-20 session will be in creating materials specifically for BGE, and we will therefore keep our focus on targeting new centres to experiment with classical subjects and introduce them in a low-pressure environment. We will also continue to seek out teachers interested in qualifying to teach Classical Studies, with the hope that we may support another two or three before the year is over.

Based on my experience of liaising between schools and universities so far, I believe that increased collaboration between these sectors is only healthy and positive for the discipline at large. I will therefore continue to work with universities to become more involved with localised initiatives and to facilitate further contacts between themselves, schoolteachers and the pupils themselves, through programmes of shared library and facility access. This will be complemented by CAS-led initiatives, such as an annual Greek and Latin summer school.

For a variety of reasons, Classics has been allowed to decline in Scotland to an almost terminal level. We have drawn a line in the sand, however, and believe that our future is one of renaissance rather than mourning.