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From tunnels to telephone boxes. A ramble from Reigate to Somers Town.
I spent a happy day at Reigate College recently at the invitation of one of the classics teachers there who had been one of my students seven years before. Lots of ancient history teaching to watch and learn from. It’s a two-way process: I teach them and then, later on, they teach me. Reigate Tunnel In a bit of quiet time, I briefly explored the town itself. Reigate is a smart Surrey commuter town (both Gail’s and Caffe Nero coffee shops highlight the upper middle class statu
3 days ago


Bacchae - making a comedy out of a tragedy
It was with a certain amount of trepidation that my daughter and I went along to the Royal National Theatre production of Baccahe – a new play after Euripides by Nima Taleghani. Friends who had already seen it seemed torn between exhilaration and despair. We liked it. The raw emotive energy of the Bacchantes led by Dionysos (Ukweli Roach) and chief Bacchante Clare Perkins dominated the stage from beginning to end with wild, crazy dancing and some climactic and vivid scenes cr
Nov 4


Classical Notes in Arsenal
A couple of weeks ago I went to Woolwich for the afternoon. Yes - that Woolwich, in south-east London, where the Woolwich Arsenal used to be. I went there very quickly and very smoothly on the Elizabeth line, which has a very smart station in the midst of the original factory site. The design of the Elizabeth line station is simple but beautiful: a smart concourse of metallic columns at platform level, subtly decorated with the colours of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (red
Nov 1


Fail Caesar! Some thoughts about the Australian Ancient History examinations confusion
On Tuesday 28 October The Guardian newspaper hit us with the news that a school in Queensland Australia had inadvertently been teaching the wrong Caesar for the forthcoming state examinations to be held the following day. While similar errors occasionally hit the headlines in the UK (the wrong English set text or the maths question that is impossible to answer), news about examination errors do not often cross Australian Ancient History Examination confusion from the other s
Oct 31


Learning to be a Classics Teacher: magistri magistraeque loquuntur
Here I report on the reflections of Classics PGCE students in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, about the specific skills they are developing on the course. The notes reveal a combination of interpersonal craft, subject‑specific expertise and practical classroom management. Developing these skills will hopefully make their lessons learning accessible, inclusive and effective. PGCE student teachers in the Cast Gallery, Faculty of Classics, University of Cambri
Oct 30


Reflections from Sofia on the Euroclassica Annual Conference 2025
The 2025 Euroclassica Annual Conference took place at the University of “St Kliment Ohridsk”, Sofia, Bulgaria under the expert coordination of Dr. Dimitar Dragnev. The opening ceremony on 19 August featured welcome addresses from the Bishop of Sofia, the Minister for Education, the Principal of the University, and Associate Professor Tsvetan Vasilev, Head of the Department of Classics. The academic programme began with lectures by Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson (Durham Un
Oct 30


Comprehensible Input in Ancient Languages Conference – a roaring success!
This is my introduction to the Conference I recently organized on the subject of using Comprehensible Input for Ancient Languages Teaching at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge on 24 th October 2025. Presenting the conference This is the first conference here in Cambridge University dedicated to the topic of Comprehensible Input in ancient languages. I am pleased to say that we have around 40 in-person guests here and around 200 online. This I think shows the e
Oct 30
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