CLASSICS

Dollar Academy is one of a diminishing number of Schools committed to providing each pupil entering the Senior School with the benefits of a Classical education. All pupils study Latin and Classical Studies in Forms I & II, before choosing their subjects at Standard Grade. Thereafter, Latin and Classical Studies are taught to Advanced Higher. The Academy is one of only seven Schools in Scotland which also present pupils for Higher Greek.

Recognising that the subject can and should make a contribution to our pupils’ sense of citizenship in a civilised society, the Department seeks to develop and refine the skills of reading, writing, reflecting, debating, and translating. There is a strong comparative focus to all that we do, reflecting our conviction that, while the study of the Classics is worthwhile per se, it is particularly valuable when all aspects of the Greco-Roman world are compared and contrasted with our own. Results are invariably excellent. Many pupils go on to study Classics at the country’s top universities.

Classics Department's Trip to Rome

Photography Competition Trip to Hadrian's Wall

It is a myth that pupils who study Classics cannot find jobs. Employers hold Classicists in high regard, because of their ability to think logically, and their well-developed communication skills. Former Dollar Academy Classicists are now working successfully in Law, the Civil Service, Banking, Accountancy, and Teaching.

The pictures show pupils inside the Colosseum and walking Hadrian's Wall.

TRIPS

Classics Trips now take place annually. Pupils have the opportunity to visit leading Classical sites in Rome and Greece, and also closer to home. The next major trip will be to Greece, scheduled for Easter 2008. Form I pupils will visit Hadrian’s Wall and Vindolanda in October 2007.

Classical Studies

At Standard Grade, we study life in Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius, and explore the wonders of Athens at the height of her power. We also set sail with Odysseus, as the epic poet Homer brings alive some of the hero’s greatest adventures.

Higher Classical Studies is an eye-opening course that offers pupils the chance to compare and contrast the political systems - and the sexual politics - of the ancient and modern worlds. In addition to studying the Athenian and Roman Empires, the course offers pupils the privilege of reading some of the world’s greatest literature: two Greek tragedies, Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Medea, and one comedy, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata.

The Advanced Higher syllabus moves beyond the question of what happened in history, to explore how history was actually constructed in the ancient world. Who wrote it? How and why? Ultimately, we study the birth of history itself. On certain key questions, it is possible for the pupils to familiarise themselves with all the surviving sources, so that their own interpretations are crucial.

Latin

At Standard Grade, we work through books III, IV and V of the Cambridge Latin Course, putting pupils in a position where their grasp of the language is significantly above the level required for the final exam. In addition, the set texts allow pupils to break free of model sentences, and to experience the riches of genuine Latin literature, including poetry by Catullus, Martial and Ovid.

Higher Latin is a challenging but rewarding course that offers pupils the opportunity to acquire a sound reading knowledge of one of the world’s greatest languages. In addition, it introduces them to two of the world’s finest writers, Cicero and Vergil.

Advanced Higher Latin allows pupils to develop further the sound language skills they have acquired at Higher, while exploring Rome’s literary and cultural achievements. In addition to studying Livy and Vergil, we trace the development of the Latin love elegy, to its eventual maturity in Ovid’s subversive, witty, Amores. Pupils also have the opportunity to write a 4,000-word dissertation on any aspect of Roman life. This final course element allows pupils to develop the kind of confidence in researching, selecting, evaluating and presenting evidence which is vital at university level.