Latin Excellence Programme

This September, pupils at Maghull High School will start participating in an innovative and ambitious programme that aims to help thousands of pupils in England achieve a GCSE in Latin.

The Department for Education’s Latin Excellence Programme (LEP) supports schools to deliver an evidence-informed Latin curriculum designed for pupils aged 11 to 16. Non-selective state schools, from across all regions of England, are participating in the programme, which is beingdelivered by Future Academies.

Maghull High School’s Year 9 pupils will spend up to two hours a week studying Latin, and will have access to a broad range of enrichment activities, including school trips and taster sessions in other classical subjects.

By taking part, pupils will be able to access some of the wider benefits of a classical education, including improved literacy, broadened vocabulary, increased academic resilience and access to empowering knowledge that is not usually available to state-school students.

The programme, which is funded for four years, will be independently evaluated.

Charles Furber, Director of the Latin Excellence Programme, said:

“There are currently over 2,500 young people in 18 state schools across England benefitting from the Latin Excellence Programme, with another 22 schools joining the programme from September.There are enormous benefits to learning Latin as it teaches students about linguistics and can improve literacy as well as giving them access to interesting and important knowledge about the ancient world. This year, we are delighted to welcome Maghull High School to the programme andcannot wait to support the school’s fantastic teachers to deliver the best possible Latin provision for their pupils.”

About the Latin Excellence Programme

The Latin Excellence Programme is an innovative education programme that started in 2022. There are now around 2,700 students in non-selective state schools across England benefitting from the programme.

The programme is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by Future Academies.Over the course of four years, the programme will help over 8,000 school pupils in England to learn Latin.

Between 2022 and 2026, the programme will work with around 40 non-selective state schools, particularly in the North, Midlands and South West of England, and aims to increase the proportion of disadvantaged students studying Latin. The programme will also improve the supply of Latin teachers, by increasing the number of opportunities for teaching practice.