JACT Classical Civilisation Summer School – Repton 12-17 July 2003

It is good to be able to report that the eleventh Summer School to be held at Repton saw an increase in the number of participants to 40 from the 34 in 2002. However the brutal reality is that numbers remain worryingly low and the problems highlighted in last year’s report have not been resolved. It remains, though, a paradoxical truth that a small Summer School is invariably a very happy and successful one and that was undoubtedly the case at Repton in July. Jaded though one was by July, the fag-end of the academic year, the students, with their enthusiasm, commitment and eagerness to learn, were a tonic to restore the flagging spirits of even the most faint and weary teacher and a glance through their comments in the evaluation sheets at the end of the course proved that in their view the Summer School had been very much worthwhile.

We welcomed two new teachers on board this year: Kaye Sheard, who has most recently been working on the Cambridge Online Latin Project and Jenny Wade, of Guildford High School. Kaye taught some excellent courses on Greek Tragedy, Roman Britain and Greek Sculpture and Vase Painting and it was a real delight to see groups of her students in the evening puzzling over the intricacies of Ancient Akkadian. Jenny gave very well-received courses in Greek Tragedy, the ‘Aeneid’ and Beginners’ Latin; she also contributed some very inventive ideas to the production of the ‘Medea’.

It was a source of regret that we were unable to offer the course in Roman History this year, but we were able to reinstate the separate courses in ‘Socrates’ and ‘Greek Comedy’. The highly interactive and very popular course on Mythology is now a very definite feature of the Summer School and it is proper here to acknowledge the hard work of Louise Savidge, Becky Symonds and Ann Peacock in setting it up. Students again very much relished the opportunity to learn some Ancient Greek and we very much hope that a number of them will persevere with their study of the language.

The climax of the Summer School is always the final evening and Repton 2003 was no exception in this. We were very pleased to welcome Avery Willis of Balliol College, Oxford as guest of honour for the performances of the ‘Medea’ and the ‘Wasps’ and a reading of the section on Socrates’ death from Plato’s ‘Phaedo’. The ‘Medea’ was without question one of the greatest triumphs in the history of the Summer School. The bitter energy conveyed in the relationship between Medea (Miriam Franklin, Camden School for Girls) and Jason (Stuart Chell, Blackburn College) is an abiding memory, as is the brilliant use of the Repton outdoors for the highly innovative and well thought-out staging of the play. The use of a striking piece of Reptonian metalwork to suggest Medea’s departing chariot was a stroke of genius. The gods too were unquestionably on our side as the first rain in a very hot week promptly fell as Medea made her final departure. Having then transferred indoors we were then treated to a very powerful and thought-provoking reading from the ‘Phaedo’ before the mood changed again with an uproarious production of the ‘Wasps’. Rarely in the whole history of productions of the play since the 5th century BC can the character of Procleon have been performed with such unbelievable and hilarious energy as it was by Hadrian Ward (St John’s School, Marlborough).

The following morning we were treated to Avery Willis’ delightful commentary on the previous night’s performances. Avery with her sassy, U.S. vocabulary (‘nice job’ featuring as a term of high praise) and her very careful attention to production details won the audience over with her nicely-judged comments, richly informed from her own experience of producing the ‘Medea’ for the Oxford University Greek Play.

In sum another very successful Summer School. It is entirely fitting to end this report by thanking those who made Repton 2003 possible. Jo Howling continued her invaluable work as Secretary, despite ever increasing commitments to children, both her own and those requiring her instruction. Camden School for Girls and St John’s School, Marlborough both very kindly released teachers at the end of the Summer Term to allow them to work at Repton. The Summer School remains indebted to the following bodies for generous grants: The Classical Association, The Craven Committee, University of Oxford, The Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, JACT, The JACT Greek Project, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Simon Carr – Course Director