1. Sophy Rogers, Reading School

2.  As a Humanities specialist school, we were obliged to offer community outreach work. We set up a gifted and talented academy with 6 local primary schools.  Classics was one of the 3 lead subjects and therefore offered session in the academy  We are no longer a Humanities specialist school (now an academy) but the sessions with primary school were really successful. They also help to promote and make the school accessible to the wider community, since, as a selective school, we can appear inaccessible to some of our local primary schools

3.  The students are girls and boys from 6 local primary schools, covering a very wide social- economic background  There are 30 year 5 students (9-10 years old)  It is no longer a G & T academy, offered to stretch high ability students, but open to any students the primary school wishes  Each week students have 1 hour of a subject for 5 weeks (e.g. Geography, Classics, MFL), a break then English and Maths for 45 minutes.  Students can browse and borrow library books  6 th form students help out

4.  1. Discussion about who the Greeks are, what they introduced & what still remains. Find out what the students know. Introduce the alphabet, turn the letters into animals (  = a fish,  = half a butterfly). Practise writing the alphabet. Write name in Greek.  Use booklet

8.  2. Go over the alphabet, play Greek tile game. Transliteration. Discuss famous Greek people. Introduce the verb 

11.  3. Play Greek letter tile game to recap the alphabet. Go over , give out  sort cards to do in groups. Introduce to 5 new verbs and imperatives. Play ‘A   ’. Go over  with hand actions. Read Persephone myth & discuss what myths helped the Greeks to explain

18.  4. Recap imperatives ‘A   ’. Recap παυω, exercise on verb endings in booklet. Introduce nouns & simple sentences (nom or nom & acc). Gods, goddess matching sheet

19.  5. Simple sentences. Quiz. Certificates & celebration. Feedback

20. Alex enjoyed learning a new alphabet!

21. Aaron has enjoyed learning Greek and loves being able to access the books in the library

22.  The students have very good understanding of people from ancient Greece and mythology from primary school  Although only 9 or 10 years old the students are not phased by the new alphabet and can learn simple grammatical concepts, especially using a mixture of strategies  Discussions sometimes become more general about language e.g. putting endings on to change the person, derivations and about the ancient world more widely

23.  6 th form students are helpful with 30 students (& there are additional benefits for them) but need guidance as they can struggle to make work approachable to the audience  It is great fun!  Sadly Greek is being removed from the school timetable at GCSE due to a decline in numbers but this allows a way for subject our students to maintain an interest and demystify an elitist subject