JACT INSET DAY - 26th September 2009

We are delighted to announce that JACT is offering a day of combined INSET on Saturday, 26th September at the Senate House, London. There is an excellent line-up of speakers and topics: see here for the full programme, plus booking form. Places are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment!

Click here for the booking form and here for the programme.

JACT Conference - 16 May 2009 - Application Form

We are delighted to invite JACT members to this year’s AGM and conference at St John's College in Durham. For full details and an application form click here. We will be starting a little later this year to allow some extra time for travel. Those arriving by car can conveniently park in The Prince Bishops car park close to the city centre. Further information about parking and the traffic charge zone can be found on the Durham local authority website. Parking very close to the college is restricted. From the railway station there is a bus service to the cathedral.

The College is in the most attractive part of the city, very close to the spectacular cathedral. It is also the venue for the Durham Latin and Greek Summer School, details of which will be sent out with the next JCT. Application forms are already available on the JACT website. We hope that teachers will take this opportunity to find out more about the Summer School as well as the Durham and Newcastle Departments who will have representatives at the conference.

For anyone wishing to stay overnight St John’s can offer bed and breakfast accommodation at special rates, although during term time availability is very limited (3 rooms only). Please contact the college directly – details can be found on their website.

Address: St John's College, 3 South Bailey, Durham DH1 3RJ Tel 0191 3343500

If anyone is keen to stay until Sunday, it may be possible to arrange a trip to parts of Hadrian's Wall. Please email office@jact.org with a request and we will try to arrange a suitable itinerary.

Election to Council 2009

Click here to read the the candidate statements for election to council, from Jenny Ramsay, Rowlie Darby and Lizzie Sandis

Metadidaskalos Conference

In Memoriam John Sharwood Smith
JACT Founding Father

As will be well known to many readers, last year witnessed the death of John Sharwood Smith, who was indisputably the most influential figure in JACT’s foundation and a profound thinker about classics and classics teaching.  Part of John’s legacy was a series of conferences, linked to JACT’s journal, Didaskalos over which John presided inimitably for its first 12 years, from 1963-1974.

Click here to download the programme and reply slip.

Examination News

The Welsh Examinations Board, in collaboration with the Cambridge Schools Classics Project, has announced its Level 2 Certificates in Latin Language (with or without a Roman Civilisation element) and Latin Literature. These are graded A* to C and equal in demand to Higher Tier GCSEs. They can count towards school league tables. Details of similarly structured Level 1 assessments (equivalent to GCSE Foundation Tier) will be released later this term.

Outlines of the proposals are now displayed on both the CSCP and WJEC websites: full specification and specimen assessment materials will be on line by 12th January. The originators are very keen to hear the views of JACT members on these proposals which appear to offer a valid alternative to the OCR GCSE.

www.Cambridgescp.com www.wjec.co.uk/index.php?subject=30&level=123&content=546

JACT Members' Questionnaire

We ask that JACT members please regularly update their teaching information for our database. To print out a copy of the form please click here.

This information will be solely for internal JACT use and will not at any time be passed on to third parties. Form can be returned free via Freepost, by fax or emailed as an attachment (for details please see form).

JACT Members' E-Newsletter

The JACT Members' E-Newsletter is now up and running (since April 2008). Be more in touch between mailings: to sign up to receive these mailings please email the office, listing 'E-Newsletter' in the subject line to office@jact.org. You must be a JACT member to sign up to this service. To join, see above.

14-19 Diplomas

JACT members will be pleased to know that JACT has been invited to be the official Classics representative on the working parties developing the new Humanities and Languages Diplomas, which are likely to come on stream in 2011.

We are therefore seeking the help of one or two JACT members with an interest in this development to volunteer to support the Officers by attending occasional meetings in London (expenses paid) and thus ensuring that the Classics community is represented in what might be a significant item in 14-19 education.

If you are interested, please send an email to exams@jact.org

AQA Principal Examiner

AQA is seeking a Principal Examiner re New Specification GCSE Classical Civilisation.  For more information click here.

Biennial JACT/British School at Athens Teachers' Course

Easter 2009 (5-18 April 2009)

MYTH, HISTORY AND IDEOLOGY IN THE GREEK CITY

Includes extensive travel in Greece

Generous bursaries available 

Deadline for applications is 30 September 2008.

For more information click here.  For an application form, click here.

New Ancient History Teachers' Notes

The JACT Ancient History Committee is currently preparing teachers' notes for the new AS specification. These are available to JACT members (only) and provide background knowledge and orientation for teachers. They are designed to complement the week-by-week schemes of work available from OCR. Notes on AH1 Options 1, 2 and 3 and AH2 Options 1, 2 and 3 are available now. The rest will become available towards the end of August. Please see the Ancient History resources page for further details on how to order the notes: http://www.jact.org/subjects/ancienthistoryres.htm.

JACT Council Election Results

At the JACT Conference/AGM at The British Museum, London, on Saturday 17 May 2007, the following new Council Members were ratified:

John Godwin
Lynda Goss
Janet Taylor

To see the full results of the vote click here.

Last chance to have your say on the new Ancient History, Classical Civilisation, Latin and Greek GCSEs.

The new OCR specifications have been on the OCR website (www.ocr.org.uk ) since the start of April. OCR is keen to receive feedback from teachers, but needs to know your views on the specifications by the beginning of June, so that all feedback can be considered. You can submit feedback via the questionnaire on the OCR website, or by sending it directly to the OCR Classics e-mail (ocr.classics@ocr.org.uk). Make sure you take the opportunity to have your say.

JACT would be grateful if any further comments could also be sent to us at exams@jact.org to be incorporated into our collective response to OCR.

New GCSEs for first teaching in September 2009.

OCR has now released details of its new specifications and sample assessment materials. Amongst the important details are:

Available at  www.ocr.org.uk

The JACT Examinations Committee (office@jact.org) would be pleased to receive members' reactions to these drafts. 

A LEVEL CLASS CIV INSET

Classics Faculty, Oxford – 5/6 July 2008

An A Level Classical Civilisation INSET weekend is being offered for teachers on 5 & 6 July 2008 at the Classics Faculty in Oxford in association with JACT. Both OCR and AQA syllabi for AS/A2 Classical Civilisation will be covered.

Please click here for full Programme and Booking Form.

University of Oxford Classics Centre, 66 St Giles’, Oxford 0X1 3LU

GCSE SUBJECT CRITERIA

QCA has now (November 2007) released its final version of the revised GCSE Subject Criteria for Classical subjects.

QCA has clearly listened to the comments made by JACT members and has made some significant amendments to the provisional version. The most significant changes concern Latin and are:

1) The opportunity for a separate Foundation Tier is re-instated

2) Controlled Assessment has been dropped: all aspects will be assessed by written examinations

3) An explicit reference to Roman culture/background material has been added to Assessment Objective 2

For full details of the GCSE Subject Criteria for Classical Subjects click here.

AQA’s new GCE Classical Civilisation – Approved

AQA’s new GCE in Classical Civilisation has now been approved by QCA.  The only significant change from the specification previously published on AQA’s website is that the duration of the AS question papers has been extended to 1 hour 30 minutes.  This change has been made in response to comments from teachers. 

The approved specification and specimen question papers can now be downloaded from AQA’s website at http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/classical_civ_new.php  Printed copies of these documents will be available shortly.

Full details of AQA's new GCE Classical Civilisation specification for teaching from September 2008, including specimen assessment materials, are now available at http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/classical_civ.php

If you have any questions about this new specification, please contact the Subject Team on 0161 038 3823, or email classics@aqa.org.uk

Please see further down this page for Additional Introductory Meetings for the New GCE in Classical Civilisation.

JACT and OCR: The Latest Developments

Recently, Professor Tom Harrison, Chair of Council, and David Taylor, Chair of the JACT Examinations Committee had a productive meeting with senior members of the OCR Awarding Body to discuss the best way of re-establishing a good professional link between the two bodies. This was in large measure an attempt to learn the lessons from the difficult relationship and lack of effective consultation during the time of dispute over the future of Ancient History.

Not least in order to ensure that the breakdown of communication which had occurred could not be repeated, both OCR and JACT saw considerable merit in the proposal to re-inaugurate regular meetings between the two bodies. These would have both a reviewing and forward looking function, and in particular would enable a strong dialogue on such crucial topics as the development of new syllabuses or specifications.

NEW OCR A LEVELS

Details of all OCR A Level specifications (Greek, Latin, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History and the new 'Classics' A level), with Specimen
Assessment materials and INSET dates, are available at: http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/asa_levelgceforfirstteachingin2008/classics/index.html

Latin GCSE: Relative Difficulty

JACT members looking for evidence to support their instinctive feeling that Latin is one of the harder GCSE specifications can find some supporting theoretical and statistical evidence from the CEM Centre at Durham University.

Website: www.cemcentre.org  (‘Subject Difficulties at GCSE’ dated 31 March 2006)

Journal of Classics Teaching

JCT17 IS OUT NOW

Contents:

Teaching Latin in Secondary Schools, Latin in Secondary Schools - Will Griffiths, Classics and Differentiation - Steven Hunt, Cambridge Latin Course ICT in the Classroom - Andy Swithinbank, Inspiration from Rouse - David Parsons, Selling Latin at KS3 & 4 - Peter Geall, Latin With the Brain in Mind - Gavin King, Teaching Roman Provincial Administration - David Hal,l Lingua Pulcherrima Meum iter ... - Elshadai Ejere, Latin at Loughborough Grammar School- Hilary Waiters

New Publications, JACT, Caption Competition Competitions, Book Reviews, Summer Schools,Calendar of Events.

JCT is only available to JACT Members:  join now by clicking on the link at the top of this page to our New Member form.

OMNIBVS Magazine

Omnibus 57 is now available.

IN THIS ISSUE: Greek tragedy and its audiences, Petrarch and the ghosts of the classical past, After Hadrian, it's Marcus Aurelius! Who wore jewellery in Roman London? Athenian imperialism in the fifth century B.C. Ovid's Metamorphoses metamorphosed, When did Vesuvius erupt? Minoan women in control? Euripides and the lionesses, I am a number': Horace, Homer and the walk-on in classical literature, Surprising Hedius Verus: how Roman statues worked, Allusive tears in Homer's Iliad Deceit, ignorance, and interpretation in Aeneid book 4, Classical mythology contorted, A salpinx for the Olympics and Gladstone Memorial Essay Prize 2009: £300 to be won.

JACT Members receive Omnibus as part of membership, but anyone can order it separately.

To order OMNIBVS please click here.