Latin and Greek, increasingly regarded as "dying" subjects in schools, got a helping hand yesterday with syllabus changes designed to encourage more take-up.
Students learn less vocabulary and do less coursework under changes by the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA board - the only exam body with these subjects at GCSE and A-level. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said it had approved syllabuses to be taught from this September, after consulting classicists at Oxford and Cambridge and elsewhere, examiners, and teachers. Last year the biggest board, the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, dropped GCSE and A-level Latin and Greek from next year after a sharp downturn in entries. Classics teachers reacted with fury, and warned it could spell the end for Greek in particular.
Ken Boston, the QCA's chief executive, said: "Classical languages are a vital part of our common heritage ... too often taught in many schools as 'twilight' subjects, outside the timetable, placing additional demands on both teachers and students alike. I hope these adjustments will encourage more schools and students to take up Latin and classical Greek."