Lower 6th Form CurriculumExamination Board: OCR
Entry Requirement: Grade B at Latin GCSE
Aside from study of the Latin language, these will depend to a large extent on the literature specified each year by the examination board. In general, the first year (AS) will cover topics raised by an historical author (e.g. Livy, Tacitus) and a verse author (e.g. Horace, Ovid), while the second year (for those studying A2) will be spent on study of Latin epic (Virgil) and a prose author (e.g. Cicero).
Assessment at both AS and A2 levels is entirely by written examination. Details of the three AS examinations are as follows:
Assessment at A2 level is based upon two linguistic papers (30%) and a paper on the prescribed texts (20%).
Like all arts subjects, Latin is not a vocational subject, but rather a discipline which uses the language and subject matter to develop a range of personal skills which are useful for other AS courses and valued by higher education institutions, which recognise the breadth of the subject. A successful Latin candidate will not only have a well-developed linguistic ability and understanding through analysis of a logical language and its influence on modern languages; he or she will also have a developed imagination and wide-ranging experience of many issues raised by the literature and culture of Rome as well as an ability to formulate a considered response to them.
