Welcome to these pages, which are aimed at prep school Classics teachers. It is work in progress! Feel free to email me here.
Personal Update (9/11/2021): Progress and output have improved thanks to the lack of a proper day job. A first effort at Nova Latina Book 2 has now been completed, and has gone out for peer review and trialling at two prep schools. Things are looking good for final publication of this, and an answer book, during the summer term. Watch this space! Personal Update (2/9/2021): Apologies for the recent inertia on this site, due to a combination of retirement, relocation and considerable downsizing. I was hoping to have made a start on my projected Nova Latina Book 2 by now, but this has not proved possible. I have a temporary workspace, and a mancave/study/office has been ordered, but won't be built until mid-March. By the end of the month it will hopefully be full steam ahead, but please bear with me in the meantime! 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 conducted in 1999:
Online IAPS Classics ForumThis new forum can be found at
www.iapsclassicsforum.co.uk 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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New for September 2021:
Nova Latina Book 1
Now available:
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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)
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).
