LATIN IN SCHOOLS INITIATIVE

Latin in Schools is a multi-year initiative to rebuild Latin in UK primary and secondary schools.

OVERVIEW

This initiative is open to all UK primary and secondary schools.

We want you to be able to offer Latin in your school, either as a lunch-time or after-school club, or as a timetabled subject (up as far as GCSE if you wish). To help you achieve that, we will:

  1. Provide subject content training to as many staff as you like (i.e. we will teach you/your staff Latin)
  2. Provide Latin pedagogy teacher training to as many staff as you like (i.e. we will teach you/your staff how to teach Latin)
  3. Provide secondary schools with up to 20 copies of the new Suburani Latin textbook series for GCSE Latin (funding may be available if you need more), and provide free Suburani digital learning accounts, giving access to world leading Latin learning software.
  4. Provide primary schools with free access to our online Primary Latin Course materials.

In short, therefore, we will teach you Latin, teach you how to teach Latin, and give you the resources you need to deliver the course(s) you choose to deliver. For your part, you will need to put aside about 2 hours per week to learn Latin (and how to teach it), and subsequently (or concurrently if you prefer) whatever time you decide to attribute to the club/lessons in your school.

Teaching teachers Latin

From September 2025 to July 2030, we are running free subject content courses for non-specialist staff in primary and secondary schools.

Primary
KS2 (Primary Latin Course)

Secondary
Course A: KS3 (Suburani Chapters 1 to 14)
Course B: KS4 Year 1 (GCSE language and culture: Suburani Chapters 15 to 26)
Course C: KS4 Year 2 (GCSE set literature, past papers, Eduqas GCSE exam)

All courses start in September and run to the following July. The deadline for registering for a course is 21st July each year (e.g. the deadline for courses starting in September 2025 is 21st July 2025).

Each course will run each year between 2025 and 2030, and teachers can start at whichever level they wish. There is no obligation to continue from one course to another. Sessions will take place online in the evenings during term time by Zoom/Teams etc. and will require about 2 hours’ study per week.

Latin pedagogy training

The main aims of Latin courses in most UK schools are to teach students to read Latin, and to introduce them to aspects of Roman civilisation. At GCSE, the study of a small amount of Latin literature is also included. In addition to your tutor modelling appropriate pedagogy during the subject content courses, we will also run a number of webinars throughout the year looking at various aspects of Latin pedagogy which will give you the skills to make your club/lessons as engaging and effective as possible.

Register interest

To register your interest in the initiative, either as a school or as a teacher, please complete the short form below. We will then contact you to answer any questions you may have, and we'll keep you informed of any developments.

Register interest

Sign up for a course

To sign up for a subject content course (i.e. a course in learning Latin), please complete the short form below. The deadline for courses starting in September 2025 is 21st July 2025.

Sign up for a course

FAQs

Who may apply?

Any teacher, teaching assistant, or student teacher currently working in a UK primary or secondary school, or any adult who can provide written evidence that they will be teaching in such a school within the next three years. Courses are also open to school administrative staff, maintenance staff, and parents, if a member of the school SLT provides written assurance that the staff member or parent has appropriate DBS clearance and will be permitted to support students with their Latin learning in the years ahead.

Do I or my school need to commit to offering Latin after the course(s)?

No. Obviously we're very much hoping that you/your school will offer Latin once you have learnt Latin. But we know that staff move from school to school, and it's almost impossible for staff and schools to commit to long term plans. Our overall aim is to increase the number of UK school staff who are in a position to help students learn Latin.

Will I be able to teach Latin as I learn it?

Yes. We have worked with many teachers who have been learning Latin as they have taught it. Some teachers are happy to be a few pages ahead of the students (or even on the same page), others prefer to have completed a course before they teach it. It's up to you.

I already have a GCSE, O level, or A level in Latin. Can I still follow a course?

Yes. If you're feeling rusty and think you would benefit from some structured revision, you're very welcome to join one of the courses.

I am a parent interested in teaching Latin. What should my next steps be?

If you would like run a Latin club or class at your local school, your first step should be to talk the idea through with the school. If the school is happy to go ahead, then please do either register interest or sign up for a subject content course (above). We will need written confirmation from a member of the school leadership team that the school is happy for you to help teach/support Latin, and that relevant DBS checks have taken place, before we can confirm your place on a course.

May home-educating groups apply?

Yes - we are open to approaches from UK home-educating groups of 5 students or more, although we are not able to provide free resources to home-educating groups. We are sorry that we are not able to provide courses or resources to individual home-educating families.

Who are the course tutors?

The subject content course tutors are all highly experienced classroom teachers with an inclusive approach to education and a track record of delivering engaging and successful lessons. The pedagogy sessions are led by experienced teacher trainers and course authors.

What experience do we have in running this sort of initiative?

Between 2000 and 2012 we ran a very similar initiative which resulted in approximately 600 UK secondary schools and 200 primary schools introducing Latin, either as clubs or on timetable.

When exactly will the courses begin, and the lessons take place?

Subject content courses will start in the second week of the school year (the week commencing Monday 8th September), and will be held at the same time and evening each week. We will determine the exact evening and time that the lessons for each course will take place through a 'best fit' approach with the teachers who sign up for each course. (It seems more sensible to arrange the time of the lessons with the teachers wanting to follow a course, rather than deciding an arbitrary time and day in advance.) As the deadline for registering for courses is 21st July each year, the time and evening of each course will be set by 25th July each year. Recordings of lessons will be available to teachers who miss individual lessons, but it is not our intention to offer entire courses via video recordings. Each week there will be one hour of taught lessons, and one hour of self-study.

I still have questions. How can I contact you?

Send us an email or give us a call. Our contact details are below.