I am so sad about the government scrapping the Latin Excellence Programme mid-year. It was bringing Latin to a range of state schools (with considerable success, as I have witnessed). I am trying hard to resist the idea that it is ill-informed prejudice against the subject. tinyurl.com/5fjr9ywk - ThreadSky

wmarybeard.bsky.social • 142 days ago

I am so sad about the government scrapping the Latin Excellence Programme mid-year. It was bringing Latin to a range of state schools (with considerable success, as I have witnessed). I am trying hard to resist the idea that it is ill-informed prejudice against the subject. https://tinyurl.com/5fjr9ywk

Comments

beccabell05.bsky.social•141 days ago

Seems a bonkers decision. I did a year of Latin at school (fee paying) and it really enriched my understanding of language. It should certainly be a widely available option if possible. So it’s crazy to remove programmes. Talk about cutting off noses…

ardentarchivist.bsky.social•142 days ago

Mid-year?!

What sort of clueless, Philistine (apologies to the much-maligned Philistines) approach is that?!
Not to drag yet more ancient tribes into continued disrepute, but that strikes me as educational vandalism.

Someone please explain to me how this lot are any better than the Cons.

rendadams.bsky.social•142 days ago

Knowing basic latin and greek roots could help so much in combating scientific illiteracy in newer generations. So many feel alienated because they don't know the big words, but being able to decipher them opens doors. :(

richardchin.bsky.social•138 days ago

Serious point - which Latin? It was a live language from about 700 BC to 700 AD, about three times longer than the period between us and Shakespeare, and the one thing I did learn from being forced to learn Shakespeare in school was language changes a tad.

richardchin.bsky.social•138 days ago

I could never see the point of learning Latin; to be fair, that might be me proving your point about ill-informed prejudice.

Anyway, I'm glad someone thought teaching Latin was important - it has had a significant influence on our culture...

hipcox.bsky.social•141 days ago

Such a shame. I was doing an escape room with family, and the guest master was seriously impressed that we could translate Latin on the fly!

markannand.bsky.social•142 days ago

Really really poor to terminate funding for any course halfway through the school year.

janbellina.bsky.social•142 days ago

I only did a year of Latin at school, but because of it I found modern Greek, Italian and Spanish easier.

kevinmac27.bsky.social•142 days ago

"Mid-year". That seems unkind to those participating.

giulia-f.bsky.social•140 days ago

Scrapping Latin? Feels like tearing down a historical building to make room for a parking lot—short-sighted and sad.

foggyknitter.bsky.social•141 days ago

I don't see why they can't at least let those sitting their GCSE this academic year finish it. Surely it wouldn't cost that much?

pellegrina.bsky.social•141 days ago

Just waiting for English literature to be replaced with Writing for Business…

doccrom.bsky.social•142 days ago

Yes, it seems deliberately pointed in terms of the timing of the removal of support for the programme mid-way through the course for some students.

drlornagibb.bsky.social•142 days ago

This is a terrible, terrible decision. I write about how studying Latin in my comprehensive while growing up in a rough council estate changed my life in my next book, Rare Tongues (AtlanticBooks 2025). I hate to think other w/c kids won't get the chance.

redkeith.bsky.social•142 days ago

So short sighted.
I studied Latin for 5 years. I didn't take it any further after leaving school, but I did end up in computing, starting as a programmer. To translate Latin you need to know vocabulary (the coding rules) and apply logic to understand the syntax. Latin was the key to my career. Rgds

lareyne.bsky.social•141 days ago

I was just about to draw a comparison between it and machine code 😄

linmmiles.bsky.social•140 days ago

How dare they scrap it mid year. At least let students finish their course. My son had the same with a quantity surveyor course 😡

russellaking.bsky.social•142 days ago

Britain seems dəstined to be an even more deprived nation.

sjsblenkathra.bsky.social•142 days ago

This really makes me cross. Always they dumb down, especially for the "little people".

v3ndettaval.bsky.social•142 days ago

This is unacceptable. Reminds me of how often music and art classes are canceled due to fiscal considerations. This is detrimental to children's well-being. I wish I'd been taught Latin at any level. Greek too‼️ The dumbing down of Western society began after my parents' generation graduated in 1950.

pollyjo.bsky.social•142 days ago

This is myopic madness. The disruption costs too, so will the future absence of the valuable effects on intellectual development in our children! Language, history, linguistics, place in the world et al. (Sorry!) Seriously, this move is seemingly very ill planned.

jfeatherstonemc.bsky.social•142 days ago

This is such sad news.

jdjunior.bsky.social•142 days ago

As someone who was compelled to take Latin in school for 3 years (it was a Catholic school) I have to say I'm struggling to fathom why it's such a great loss. I can see its use in certain fields of study of course, but not as a useful skill for everyone.

wmarybeard.bsky.social•142 days ago

I don’t think we are talking about making it compulsory- but a viable option. Do we want to live in a world in which no one can read Virgil (translations can be good but don’t replace) or to have no access to language of early scientific inquiry? Or just the rich?

katherineschof8.bsky.social•138 days ago

My year 10 boy absolutely LOVES Latin (we’re very lucky to live in Cambridge and that he has an outstanding teacher). It’s opened a whole world of humanity to him that would otherwise be closed.

This is such a mistaken cut, for very little savings in the scheme of things.

joelphillips.bsky.social•138 days ago

It doesn't look like this scheme did a good job of making it a viable option. It created an option for a few thousand students (maybe tens of thousands if you allow for people changing schools). It made no difference to most.

joelphillips.bsky.social•138 days ago

It seems plausible that it had an effect on increasing and diversifying the cohort of Latin-speakers, which might be valuable. But the value here is more "lets keep Latin alive", rather than "lets ensure that everyone who wants to read Virgil can do so".

jdjunior.bsky.social•142 days ago

My problem with that point is that you could say the same about a lot of ancient languages - Ancient Greek for example. Should we offer them all as an option?

katherineschof8.bsky.social•138 days ago

Ideally yes! One of our local private schools offers Ancient Greek GCSE to all state pupils in the city.

oisinmcginley.bsky.social•142 days ago

Yes

revbrenw.bsky.social•142 days ago

Yes indeed!

sharp.blue•138 days ago

Yes, of course!

sarahlidwelldurnin.bsky.social•142 days ago

Yes! Ancient Greek is right there on the GCSE and A-level course list for a reason.

emperornero1.bsky.social•141 days ago

Your original objection was against a strawman. Just give up. She's studied this issue more than you have. Admit you jumped in before you realized what she was actually arguing

emperornero1.bsky.social•141 days ago

Mary, don't waste your time with ppl who didn't even read up on the point you were actually making

lila7.bsky.social•142 days ago

😡😪😡😪😡

sarahlidwelldurnin.bsky.social•139 days ago

There is a petition now to try to overturn this unfair move: https://www.change.org/p/save-the-latin-excellence-programme-keep-teaching-latin-in-state-schools

ianmusgrave.bsky.social•142 days ago

I could have been a judge but I didn’t have the Latin. Didn’t have the Latin for the judgin

thepaulconnolly.bsky.social•142 days ago

Deplorable decision. I wrote a thread about this kind of educational philistinism a few weeks ago

fussym.bsky.social•142 days ago

Bored by/hated it at school. But, very helpful with my French and Spanish, with crosswords, decoding words new to me in English, and "understanding" other romance languages, eg., Italian, on holidays. I know a young language teacher who is jealous of me because she didn't get to study it in school.

wertheimer.bsky.social•142 days ago

Turpe est.

roselynetje.bsky.social•142 days ago

That is sad, particularly for those, like my grandson at state school who wished to follow it through to GCSE.

lawlerlj.bsky.social•142 days ago

It’s a very useful language to learn for so many reasons.

itseperkele.bsky.social•142 days ago

Such as?

Asks a person whose native language is incomprehensible gibberish and I cant think of many useful reasons to even learn that lol

russellaking.bsky.social•142 days ago

Its the basis of legal systems and much of science.

ambridgeolwen.bsky.social•141 days ago

It’s also pretty important if you want to study languages, history, archaeology or literature etc prior to the modern era. I went to a state school and the Latin I learned there helped me get my Master’s degree decades later 👍

g0wat.bsky.social•142 days ago

This is sad stuff…seems proper stay in your lane thinking 🙁

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