This paper discusses the benefits of prose and free composition following the implementation of both styles in Year 7 Latin classrooms. While prose composition is an optional feature in GCSE and A Level exams in the UK, free composition is rarely part of Latin teaching in the UK – and yet it can have benefits for students equal to or exceeding those of prose composition. Any composition is a useful diagnostic tool for grammar, but free composition seems a more enjoyable and creative experience for students. For this research, I experimented with both styles of composition and observed the teaching implications as well as the students’ reception of both.

This study concerns how the Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE) database of imperial coins can support Year 12 students to learn about Roman imperial image on coins for their Classical Civilisation Imperial Image paper. In observations of lessons, the author noted that pupils struggled to remember and identify coins which were prescribed sources for their examinations and appeared disengaged in other teaching methods. The author taught pupils how to use the OCRE database. When using the database, all pupils seemed more interested and engaged in the study of coins. Indeed, pupils’ classwork and written essays showed that, after using the database, their use of coin-related terminology and metalanguage increased, they wrote more detailed descriptions of coins, and considered how coins contributed to Augustus’ imperial image. The author recommends that teachers allow an extended period for students to become familiar with the software before formal activities. He suggests engaging activities for students such as finding and presenting coins to the class, curating displays of coins, or finding coins depicting various animals in the quickest time. Teachers could vary the time on each activity depending on the lesson time available.

This paper investigates the extent and modalities of Latin and Greek teaching in early medieval British monastic communities by examining the indirect evidence offered by the manuscript known as the Liber Commonei, part of the composite manuscript Oxford Bodleian Auct. F.4.32. Using the patterns and nature of Latin and Old Welsh glosses as they appear in the manuscript, it is argued that, as expected, the monks would learn Classical Latin with the aid of Vulgar Latin and vernacular glosses and that they would tackle texts of a gradually higher complexity, conversely reducing their reliance on glosses. They would then proceed to learn Greek, using biblical excerpts (in Greek and in Latin script) as reference material; by analysing these texts, it is argued here that these British monks in the 9th century worked with the help of a Greek-speaking teacher.

Scholarship on Scandinavian linguistics has long recognised an indigenous metalinguistic tradition, rooted in runic writing and skaldic poetry, that developed independently of Latin influence. This tradition coexisted with Latin learning in a dynamic interplay often termed ‘two cultures’, culminating in the Icelandic grammatical treatises (12th to 14th centuries). While debates persist over the treatises’ indigenous versus foreign influences, the methods of Latin teaching in medieval Iceland remain underexamined. Though recent work has addressed Latin textual presence and educational structures, the pedagogical techniques themselves – how Latin was taught – have yet to be explored. This study aims to fill this gap, analysing methods and techniques of teaching Latin in medieval Iceland and offering new insights into the negotiation of vernacular and Latin traditions.

This article explores an innovative case study in classical language education, focusing on a high school student who independently designed an educational video game inspired by Greek mythology. The project illustrates how digital creativity can effectively support the teaching and learning of Latin and ancient Greek. Three key aspects are examined: student autonomy and creativity in classical studies, the educational potential of merging classical content with digital media, and the implications for reimagining the role of Classics in modern curricula.

The initiative combines classical themes with interactive gameplay, transforming the learning process into an engaging, active experience. Rather than simply transmitting knowledge, the game reinterprets ancient content through digital storytelling and mechanics. This approach promotes critical thinking, interdisciplinary skills, and aligns with science, technology, engineering, art, and maths (STEAM) education principles. The teacher’s role shifts from traditional instructor to facilitator, enabling authentic and student-driven learning. Overall, the study demonstrates how digital tools can foster immersive and meaningful engagement with classical languages and cultures. It presents a replicable model for curriculum innovation, showing that integrating technology with humanistic content can revitalise Classics education. The project positions ancient languages not as static relics, but as dynamic fields open to reinterpretation and creativity through contemporary digital means.

The implementation of distance learning in Greece during the 2020 to 2021 school years due to the pandemic was a necessary solution for the continuation of education, presenting challenges. It offered new opportunities for the use of technology in the educational process and highlighted the importance of flexibility and adaptability in education. One example of the new possibilities was interschool collaborations and the joint implementation of programmes and activities. Through the platform Webex, used by the Greek educational system, schools from different regions were able to collaborate, exchange ideas and materials, enhance communication, promote the exchange of cultural experiences, and broaden the horizons of students and educators.

The interschool programme titled A Thousand and One Interpretations: The Reception of Antigone through Different Forms of Art was designed and implemented through the collaboration of 2 educators and 2 second-year high school classes, one from the Varvakeio Model High School in Athens (a school where pupils are selected through examinations in Greek language and Maths at the age of 12 years) and the other from the 3rd General High School of Serres (a suburban school in Northern Greece).

With the main objectives being the creative integration of art into the teaching of a compulsory curriculum subject1 and collaboration between 2 schools of different types (model and conventional) from different regions, 6 mixed groups (each group included students from both schools) were formed. These groups studied and explored the relationship between Sophocles’s Antigone and contemporary works of art that reinterpret and recreate the ancient tragedy.

In a world where the teaching of Classical Latin itself is increasingly at risk, introducing Vulgar Latin at secondary school level could be an opportunity to revive pupils’ interest in studying this language and increase awareness of their linguistic heritage. The ideal way to stimulate this effect is through classwork on epigraphic documents, which undoubtedly provide students with a unique opportunity to get to know the Latin-speaking civilisation from within. In recent years, this teaching strategy has gained international attention, stimulated by the need to renew Latin teaching methods to make them more effective and meaningful for both teachers and students. In this contribution, I will offer a review of a personal experience including the reusable sample of a Vulgar Latin workshop for high school students, and I will reflect on the role schools and universities should play in specifically promoting the teaching of Latin through epigraphy.

Recent reports into the situation in Scottish schools have identified concerning trends in terms of the mental wellbeing and behaviour of young learners. The Scottish Government, through various policy initiatives, has sought to devise and implement strategies with a view to bringing about improvements in these areas. As part of this commitment, it has indicated that the health and wellbeing of learners must be the responsibility of all teachers across the curriculum. This article examines how the teaching of classical literature can contribute to this through the development of emotional literacy as a reflection, reinforcement, and extension of the explicit lessons on emotion delivered through the Personal and Social Education curricular programme.

This paper presents four case studies exploring how Latin is taught and positioned within Catholic secondary schools and colleges in Northern England. While Latin education is often debated in terms of class and elitism, this study adds a religious dimension, examining how Catholic identity, ecclesial values, and liturgical politics influence curricular choices. Using qualitative data from interviews with Latin teachers, the research investigates how schools interpret papal calls to preserve Latin. The findings reveal a varied landscape: in selective or fee-paying schools, Latin is linked to prestige; in more inclusive settings, it is framed as cultural enrichment. Yet, across all cases, institutional backing is limited, with Latin instruction often depending on dedicated individuals rather than policy or Church direction. The tension between inclusive education and doctrinal identity further shapes how Latin is taught. Additionally, the decline of Latin in liturgy weakens its status in the curriculum. By focusing on the intersection of faith, market dynamics, and ideology, the study highlights both opportunities and constraints for Latin’s revival in Catholic education. It concludes that Latin’s future in these schools cannot rest on tradition alone but requires nuanced, context-specific engagement.

This article traces the history of teaching Vulgar and Late Latin (LVLT) at Finnish universities from the mid-19th century to the present, focusing on the University of Helsinki. Drawing on archival sources, we examine changes in teaching programmes, degree requirements and thesis output. We show how LVLT was gradually integrated into Latin studies through philological renewal, Romance philology and epigraphic research, peaking in a ‘boom’ from the 1960s to the 1990s. Key figures such as Veikko Väänänen and Iiro Kajanto were central to embedding LVLT in teaching and research. However, recent structural reforms and cuts to staff and courses have contributed to a decline in LVLT instruction.

This reflective essay responds to current redundancies in the sector of Classics teaching. tristia ex Dorcestria recounts the author’s near-miss experience of redundancy and considers the place of Classical subjects in the twenty-first-century curriculum. Written from the intersectional perspective of a Classics teacher, researcher and poet, the piece discusses the composition of the award-winning poem Manifesto, recipient of the Classical Association’s 2025 Write–Speak–Design Prize, and explores how creative practice became a means of transforming professional loss into pedagogical insight. Drawing on the metaphor of Ovidian exile, the essay situates one teacher’s story within a broader context of national uncertainty about the value and future of Classics. The essay demonstrates that creative practice can function both as personal catharsis and as a mode of critical reflection, enabling educators to reimagine their role and reconnect with the emotional and ethical dimensions of ancient study. The accompanying poem models how teachers might use creative responses to engage students with questions of power, justice, and identity, and to affirm the continuing relevance of the ancient world in addressing modern crises, not least those relating to war and violence, marginalisation, and democracy.

The article examines current challenges in teaching Vulgar and Late Latin (LVLT) at the University of Helsinki, the institution with the longest tradition of teaching LVLT in Finland. Based on structured interviews with researcher-teachers and doctoral students, as well as the author’s own didactic experience, the study identifies institutional, teaching-related, and learning-related challenges for effective LVLT instruction. The key institutional challenges stem from significant reductions in degree requirements and teaching staff, limiting students’ exposure to LVLT. Teaching-related challenges emphasise the need for improved alignment between teaching methods and intended learning outcomes, while learning-related challenges concern declining Latin proficiency and academic skills among graduate students. Despite the difficulties, interdisciplinary and student-centred approaches have proven effective in LVLT teaching. The study highlights the importance of the linguistic, philological, and historical contextualisation of LVLT texts, especially original documents, as well as the necessity of independent study to supplement formal instruction.