Head's Newsletter 2 March 2018

CLASSICS DEPARTMENT REPORT

were lectured by leading experts from a range of universities, including Oxford and UCL. In the afternoon the boys were taken on a tour of the Mithraeum in the City of London, an 1800 year old Roman temple (see below). The building, dedicated to the god Mithras, has been restored to its original site. It lies beneath the new multi- million-pound Bloomberg headquarters near Mansion House. Boys got to explore various artefacts before immersion in the depths of the original Temple, 7 metres below street level. This was an extraordinary, never-to-be-forgotten experience for us all.

The final week of last half-term was an action-packed one for the Classics Department. Mr Karski selected candidates for the ARLT Classical Reading Competition. He was really impressed by the number of quality entrants who showcased their talents at reading Latin texts aloud in auditions. Congratulations go to Georgiy Lesyuk, Haseeb Rahman and Will Tilotson who have been selected to represent Tiffin in the Junior Competition, to Euan O’Connor and Harry Lambert in the Intermediate Section, and Duncan Tarboton and Dylan Hillier in the Seniors. We wish them luck in the Competition. On Wednesday 7 th February 19 Senior Classicists attended a highly entertaining performance of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata at the Shaw Theatre. Using Alan Somerstein’s much-loved translation, the amateur cast managed to balance the original flavour of the ancient Greek play with some very amusing, if somewhat risqué, contemporary touches! This served as an excellent introduction to Greek Comedy and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

My thanks as always go to my colleagues who help to facilitate such wonderful opportunities for the boys. Mrs O’Connell VISIT TO CHINATOWN On Monday 19 th February 15 Mandarin students from Years 8-10 belatedly celebrated Chinese New Year on a visit to Chinatown with Mrs Thompson. During the course of the day the boys explored a Chinese book shop, supermarkets and bakeries where they were able to learn more about Chinese culture and to put their speaking and reading skills to the test.

Then on Thursday 8 th February 28 GCSE Classicists attended a series of lectures of Latin and Greek texts at Westminster School organised by Mrs Attenborough. The boys were given a valuable insight into University life as they