On Tuesday 29th November, CLC hosted pupils from Cheltenham College, Dean Close and St Mary’s Calne, to compete alongside our own competitors in a thoroughly entertaining Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation speaking competition, with Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories.
The passages included a duologue from Homer’s Odyssey performed in English, in which the Greek hero Odysseus challenges the one-eyed giant, the Cyclops; an extract in Latin from Plautus’ play The Pot of Gold; and selections from Ovid’s Echo and Narcissus and Catullus’ Carmina read in Latin, where competitors had to combine fluency of expression with a feel for the metre and the meaning of the poems read. Students entering for Senior Greek performed a speech from Sophocles’ Ajax, taking on the character of Tecmessa, witness to her husband’s maddened rage.
A great time was had by all, and it is certain that everyone involved gained invaluable knowledge from the competition. Many pupils were successful, and prizes for CLC went to:
Classical Civilisation (Junior)
3rd - Sissi and Rosie (LC3 / Year 9)
Intermediate Latin (Year 10)
2nd - Livvie and Alyssa
Joint 3rd - Bella and Portia
Intermediate Latin (Year 11)
1st - Elise
2nd - Sarah
Senior Greek (Sixth Form)
1st – Evie (SFC1 / Year 12)
3rd – Decima (SFC1 / Year 12)
Alyssa, one of our prize winners writes:
“Personally, I gained a lot out of the experience. It is very interesting to speak (and hear) Latin, as it has a whole different dimension which really enhances the language. It was also entertaining to hear other people’s interpretations of the texts, and to watch some of the amazing acting, too. Overall, it was a really enjoyable afternoon!”
Dr Wilkinson, Teacher of Classics, and Alyssa, UC4 (Year 10)