Ancient Greek, the Spectator, and the Same Old Story

Every so often, an article pops up that tells you far more about the writer’s insecurities than about the subject they claim to be analysing. Harry Mount’s latest piece on Ancient Greek is a perfect example. He even lifts figures from this blog (without attribution) while somehow managing to miss the actual context that explains why ancient languages are struggling in schools.

I am going to start with some basic information.

Curriculum Pressure

Since the 1988 Baker reforms, all classical subjects have been squeezed. Curriculum time has shrunk, other subjects have expanded and even National Curriculum staples like Music, Drama, Art and Design have been pushed to the margins. Mercifully, it looks like there might be change on the horizon for these subjects. Ancient Greek hasn’t been singled out for decline; it’s simply been caught in the same policy tide that has washed over the arts and humanities for decades. In fact, my whole teaching career.

Add to that the dwindling pathways: no entry‑level Greek, no half‑GCSEs, and the fading out of AS exams. These are the direct result of government policies over the years.

Resources and the Myth of “Dumbing Down”

Mount takes a swipe at the Cambridge Latin Course for “dumbing down” Latin. Whether you agree or not (I obviously don’t), it’s worth remembering why the CLC was created in the first place: because it was recognized that traditional Latin textbooks were never going to work for the wider, more diverse cohorts entering comprehensive schools. Anyone who has read the reports of the debates held in the 1960s and 1970s would realise that.

Would he prefer we hand every 11‑year‑old a 1950s grammar‑translation textbook and wish them luck?

Teachers - those who actually do the job, not those who comment from an armchair - overwhelmingly prefer courses like CLC and newcomer Suburani. My work with Classics for All and the Association for the Reform of Latin Teaching training teachers confirms this again and again. CLC and Suburani remain hugely popular with both teachers and students. Perhaps Harry might consider asking them why.

Who’s Actually Supporting Greek?

It’s also telling that he forgets to mention the hard work of organisations like Classics for All, the Cambridge School Classics Project, the Classical Association and Hands Up Education, who have been tirelessly supporting Latin and Ancient Greek in schools. The only time I’ve seen him champion ancient languages is through his Amo, Amas, Amat offerings – a bundle of old a-hat trivia for Sunday Telegraph readers of a certain age. Anyone with even a passing understanding of how people learn languages would recognise the pedagogical value of courses like CLC.

The Mysterious Ex‑Don

Mount cites a “mystery ex‑don adviser” lamenting the supposed decline in student standards. Perhaps this adviser might pause to consider the structural reasons behind the situation, such as curriculum cuts, assessment changes and teacher shortages, before blaming the students themselves.

And Then There’s the Spectator…

But should we expect anything different from The Spectator? This is the same magazine that routinely attacks state schools and publishes those ludicrous “How’s your school chapel?” pieces. Its editor, Michael Gove, a former Education Minister, presided over an education era that triggered a recruitment and retention crisis, intensified student mental‑health pressures through relentless high‑stakes exams, funnelled money into dubious multi‑academy trusts, fragmented the education system, and stripped humanity from the very institutions meant to nurture young people.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that a magazine with that pedigree prefers to blame teachers, students and modern textbooks rather than acknowledge the policy landscape that created the problem. If Harry Mount really had wanted to do something to shore up the teaching of Ancient Greek, he could have talked to his present boss when he was Minister for Education.