Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I commend to you the OU course "Reading Classical Latin".

Did you enjoy Latin at school, Maggie?

Last Xmas I was given a very nice hardback book which seemed like it might be full of jokes (you know the type!).
A joke definitely but not what I* expected - it was a LATIN TEXT BOOK

Angela Woodford wrote:Did you enjoy Latin at school, Maggie?

I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn't been so scared of Queenie (there's no way we would have dared to refer to her by a nickname even among ourselves).

I think it's great that you've gone on to study Latin for interest and enjoyment after starting out in fear and trembling.

I really admire you for that, Maggie!

(I tried to find the clapping hands emoticon, but it's vanished!)

And also bl00dy-mindedness, because my niece, who wasn't allowed to take O level latin, had done it the year before I did!!

I did Latin O'level and think it probably has helped me to some extent ... it always used to look good on a CV! My son and daughter have both got an A in their GCSEs for Latin at CH and I think the teaching, particularly under my daughter's Old Blue Latin teacher, has been superb!

Daughter number 3 (not at CH) does 6 languages including English - French, Spanish, Latin, Greek and Chinese Mandarin

I started in 1946, and the school had a theory that it would be easier for small boys to learn Greek rather than Latin. I did not learn very much, but I can still read the alphabet, which is useful.
I think that it might be sensible to teach the young a variety of alphabets, Arabic, Denvagari and Russian say, when they are more receptive, perhaps at about 8.

I was the last pupil to take Latin O level at my school - I really enjoyed it, and was very grateful for it when I did Chaucer for English Lit level. None of the others in the Eng class had done Latin beyond the age of 12. Much of Chaucerian English is guessable with a deecent bit of Latin vocab behind you. Gave me a distinct advantage when translating The Wife of Bath!!
Also useful if you want to do medicine!

Oops - decent, not deecent!

I got an A for my GCSE Latin...

Some say it has no practical use (not true, you can sound like a complete 'know it all') and you are taught many things at school that are not relevant to the outside world... what is a practical use for the quadratic equation??

Also useful when you take up gardening - all those plant names!!

And, no; I cannot think of a practical use for the quadratic equation. As for simultaneous equations - what on earth were THEY about? Arithmetic, percentages, averages, graphs and analysing data are all useful. I have just been helping my son (not at CH) with his 1st GCSE maths module which was data collection and analysis and found it mostly relevant to modern life, which was refreshing!

Also if you are a medical student on 'Eggheads' (a BBC2 quiz show m'lud) you would know that Canis Major (Not Ursa Major) is the constellation whose name mean Big Dog!

I "re-iterate"that Latin is incredibly useful. Even that ferocious veceloceroptor Mistress, Queenie,( who regarded me as a "throw yourself out of the window" candidate, and therefore despicably hopeless material), might be pleased at my conviction that a knowledge of Latin is a valuable acquisition for the rest of one's life.