Welcome to these pages, which are aimed at prep school Classics teachers. It is work in progress! Feel free to email me here.
Latin vocabulary spreadsheetThis spreadsheet covers the revised CE levels 1, 2, 3, CASE as well as the OCR GCSE prescription. Obviously you can sort the data according to your wishes. If you spot any slips please let me know!
Introduction to Latin metreThis is a brief introduction to verse and scansion for young beginners.
CE Latin Specification UpdateThere have been some recent (10/3/21) minor updates to the prescribed vocabulary for the new syllabus. To reduce repeated glossings in the storylines the following items have been added to the Level 1 prescription: Troia, Troianus, Graecia, Graecus (from Level 2), Roma.
The latest ISEB Classics syllabus can be downloaded from here CE Syllabus Changes at a Glance is my own unofficial summary of the situation - it can be downloaded from the link below:
Blast from the PastHere is a survey of prep school Classics teaching I conducted in 1999:
Streamlined Greek
I have written a Greek coursebook for young learners, leading to GCSE. The aim is to present the material in a user-friendly, non-intimidatory way, and the emphasis is on clear lay-out and uncomplicated grammatical explanations. The exercises are punctuated by reading passages of manageable length which increase in frequency as the course progresses. A reference section at the end comprises vocabulary chunks for learning, a listing of verbs, a grammar summary and a two-way vocabulary. It runs to about 270 A4 pages and is entitled Streamlined Greek. A pdf of this, and of the answer book, can be downloaded free of charge below. Hard copies can be purchased from Amazon at £9.99.
Streamlined Greek : Click below
Streamlined Greek answer book: Click below
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Now available from Amazon
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Prep School Latin Books 1-4 (available from Amazon at £7.50) have appeared as a result of feedback from those teachers who like the approach of my more comprehensive, substantial and expensive Prep School Latin handbook (see column 3 of this page) but who are reluctant to commit to that volume, either for reasons of cost or because their pupils’ anticipated aims are more modest. Books 1-3 are, of course, very syllabus-specific, being targeted at ISEB’s Common Entrance Levels 1-3 prescriptions. Book 4 is based on the CAS prescription and goes on to cover the main constructions featured in 13+ public school scholarship papers. Feedback is, as always, very welcome.
The four volumes are all in the same format as that of the Prep School Latin handbook, i.e. about 7in x10in (178mm x 254mm), and their contents are the same as the corresponding portions of the larger volume.
A free pdf download is available (see column 3 of this page).
The four volumes are all in the same format as that of the Prep School Latin handbook, i.e. about 7in x10in (178mm x 254mm), and their contents are the same as the corresponding portions of the larger volume.
A free pdf download is available (see column 3 of this page).
Prep School Greek
and
More Prep School Greek
Prep School Greek: A workbook leading to Common Entrance Level 1
More Prep School Greek: A workbook leading to Common Entrance Level 2
As you know, curriculum time specifically for Greek in a prep school is usually at a premium, hence these self-contained workbooks which, mapped exactly to ISEB's Level 1 and 2 syllabuses, require very little actual teaching or contact time. They are A4 in format and pupil-friendly: the font is that of ISEB's Greek house style (New Athena Unicode), explanations are simple and the lay-out spacious. After working through the book pupils will be well equipped to tackle practice papers with confidence before hopefully progressing further.
These workbooks are available from Amazon at £7.50 each. A pdf version of the answer book is available free of charge by email: it runs to only 33 pages so I have not bothered publishing it!
More Prep School Greek: A workbook leading to Common Entrance Level 2
As you know, curriculum time specifically for Greek in a prep school is usually at a premium, hence these self-contained workbooks which, mapped exactly to ISEB's Level 1 and 2 syllabuses, require very little actual teaching or contact time. They are A4 in format and pupil-friendly: the font is that of ISEB's Greek house style (New Athena Unicode), explanations are simple and the lay-out spacious. After working through the book pupils will be well equipped to tackle practice papers with confidence before hopefully progressing further.
These workbooks are available from Amazon at £7.50 each. A pdf version of the answer book is available free of charge by email: it runs to only 33 pages so I have not bothered publishing it!
Latin as an Honour
'....I have rolled ‘Latin as an Honour’ out across the whole school now, the children just love the books and they are so much better prepared for Common Entrance.
Kim Drummond, St Edmund's, Hindhead'
From another colleague in the south of the country:
Latin as an Honour has been a real hit here this year, with the highest end of year exam results the school has known, so I’ll certainly be using it next year! The Level 2 book looks fabulous too...
Please note: Latin as an Honour also is now available on Amazon, as are answer books for Latin as an Honour and Streamlined Greek.
Kim Drummond, St Edmund's, Hindhead'
From another colleague in the south of the country:
Latin as an Honour has been a real hit here this year, with the highest end of year exam results the school has known, so I’ll certainly be using it next year! The Level 2 book looks fabulous too...
Please note: Latin as an Honour also is now available on Amazon, as are answer books for Latin as an Honour and Streamlined Greek.
The Jason Quest
Some colleagues will remember The Jason Story, a blue A5 book from ISEB published about ten years ago. It quietly passed away, so I have now rehashed it: it's aimed at consolidating the basic constructions, and is available from Amazon at £6.99.
Selected Articles by RCB
Review of The Cambridge Grammar of Classical Greek
English-into-Latin: Why not give it a go? (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Summer 2015)
Starting off in Greek (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Summer 2015)
Ciceroniana obiter carpta (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Autumn 2014)
The Trouble with Classics (Attain magazine, Spring 2014)
Keeping Your Hand In (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Autumn 2013)
English-into-Latin: Why not give it a go? (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Summer 2015)
Starting off in Greek (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Summer 2015)
Ciceroniana obiter carpta (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Autumn 2014)
The Trouble with Classics (Attain magazine, Spring 2014)
Keeping Your Hand In (SATIPS Classics Broadsheet, Autumn 2013)
Now available from Amazon
(January 2026)
Click here
This vocabulary handbook is an essential companion for students working towards a GCSE in Latin, of whatever examination board, and provides a valuable reference resource for their teachers. It consists of a Latin-English lexicon which includes cross-referenced irregularities which young learners find tricky, followed by a comprehensive English-Latin listing. This latter listing is not confined to the exam boards' restricted vocabulary prescriptions for those pursuing the composition options, but cross-references the Latin-English section and therefore offers wider scope for teachers wishing to concoct their own English-Latin exercises. Colour coding ensures that students and teachers can easily focus on the high-priority items for learning. Following this two-way lexicon the exam boards' vocabulary prescriptions are divided by word type into bite-size chunks for learning. Colour coding throughout, clarity of exposition and informative headers make this an easily navigable booklet which will be found a valuable vade mecum.
Sample pages can be found below:
Sample pages can be found below:
From my inbox
This book is absolutely what I was looking for. I only have one 30-minutes lesson per week with my pupils, and this book is just fantastic at making new concepts very clear.
I used to follow another textbook but the pupils are now much clearer on how to translate. It's a wonderful step by step method that works wonders. Thank you again for all your hard work.
I used Nova Latina Book 1 last year and thank goodness for your succinct but very thorough exercises. We had severe time-table allocation cuts last year and your books were invaluable.
I have worked with your books for many years - the clearest and best on the market. At my last school, when I arrived they were using another fiddlier text book that a lot of the students said they found confusing. I replaced that one with yours and the students were much happier!
I used to follow another textbook but the pupils are now much clearer on how to translate. It's a wonderful step by step method that works wonders. Thank you again for all your hard work.
I used Nova Latina Book 1 last year and thank goodness for your succinct but very thorough exercises. We had severe time-table allocation cuts last year and your books were invaluable.
I have worked with your books for many years - the clearest and best on the market. At my last school, when I arrived they were using another fiddlier text book that a lot of the students said they found confusing. I replaced that one with yours and the students were much happier!
Year 8 Latin Revision Assistance
Syllabus-specific vocabulary and grammar revision aids:
| latin_revision_grammar_checklist_by_level.pdf |
| referenda_1.pdf |
| referenda_2.pdf |
| referenda_3.pdf |
| referenda_4.pdf |
Course books containing syllabus-specific grammar and vocabulary reference sections:
| latin_as_an_honour_bk_1.pdf |
| prep_school_latin_1.pdf |
| latin_as_an_honour_bk_2_.pdf |
| latin_as_an_honour_bk_3.pdf |
| prep_school_latin_2.pdf |
| prep_school_latin_3.pdf |
| prep_school_latin_4.pdf |
| prep_school_latin_handbook__1-4_combined_.pdf |
Referenda
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Referenda is a series of four inexpensive grammar and vocabulary reference booklets aimed specifically at the different levels of the ISEB prescriptions: Levels 1, 2, 3 and Common Academic Scholarship. I produced them after being frustrated with the laziness or impatience of those pupils who simply cannot be bothered to turn to the back of my Prep School Latin handbook and spend time searching for what they want. Although their format is compatible with that of PSL, each booklet is strictly syllabus-specific and can therefore be used in the run-up to CE/CAS alongside any coursebook. Each one contains grammar tables, a syntax section, a listing of the prescribed vocabulary arranged by word-type (which I use for setting learning work), and English-Latin and Latin-English wordlists. They are also cheap – £4.50 a go – so will hopefully not make a huge dent in your departmental budget. I know that many teachers produce their own summaries of grammar and vocabulary, but I hope that these booklets may simply save colleagues’ time in reinventing wheels.
A free pdf download is available (see above). Feel free to email me if you have any enquiries. |
Prep School Latin:
A Handbook for Students and Teachers
Prep School Latin is a substantial, one-stop resource suitable for prep school pupils working at any of the four levels of the ISEB prescription, and caters also for the more advanced 13+ scholarship demands of some public schools. As such it can be used at secondary level as a Year 9 consolidation course or as a pre-GCSE refresher. The explanations and lay-out are unsophisticated but clear, and there are plentiful exercises affording practice in exactly the sort of questions pupils will face at Common Entrance and Public School Scholarship levels. Teachers will find the vocabulary checklists invaluable for reference and the setting of learning work.
The book combines the best features, and omits the less successful ones, of my Ab Initio, Latin Practice Exercises and Latin as an Honour series, based on my own experience and the feedback received from colleagues. As such it can be used as a traditional coursebook for pupils of all abilities whilst still catering for the needs of those who favour the heavily English-into-Latin bias of Latin as an Honour.
It is also intended to be user-friendly; hence the grammatical tables, syntax summary and two-way vocabulary at the end. The numbered vocabulary listings, arranged by word type within each level, may be found useful for the setting of learning work. My own practice is to operate a ‘five-a-day’ learning policy, but that’s another story…
Prep School Latin runs to more than 500 pages and is compact (7 x 10 ins, 17.78 x 25.4 cms) in format. It could form the core of a prep school course or simply stand alone as the single course book to serve pupils throughout their prep school career. It is available from Amazon at £14.99, but a free pdf download is available (see above).
The book combines the best features, and omits the less successful ones, of my Ab Initio, Latin Practice Exercises and Latin as an Honour series, based on my own experience and the feedback received from colleagues. As such it can be used as a traditional coursebook for pupils of all abilities whilst still catering for the needs of those who favour the heavily English-into-Latin bias of Latin as an Honour.
It is also intended to be user-friendly; hence the grammatical tables, syntax summary and two-way vocabulary at the end. The numbered vocabulary listings, arranged by word type within each level, may be found useful for the setting of learning work. My own practice is to operate a ‘five-a-day’ learning policy, but that’s another story…
Prep School Latin runs to more than 500 pages and is compact (7 x 10 ins, 17.78 x 25.4 cms) in format. It could form the core of a prep school course or simply stand alone as the single course book to serve pupils throughout their prep school career. It is available from Amazon at £14.99, but a free pdf download is available (see above).
