Would you want to learn Latin at school?

Polls

4th August 2021

MORE pupils in England are set to be given Latin lessons, after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced a £4m scheme to teach the ancient language in more state secondary schools.

Mr Williamson said part of the reason is that “there should be no difference in what pupils learn at state schools and independent schools.” The Government says that Latin is taught in 49% of private schools, compared to 2.7% of state schools.

“We know Latin has a reputation as an elitist subject which is only reserved for the privileged few,” Mr Williamson said. “But the subject can bring so many benefits to young people, so I want to put an end to that divide.”

The scheme is set to copy the Mandarin Excellence Programme, which was launched to prepare pupils for a world in which China is increasingly important. TV historian Professor Mary Beard
said: “I am absolutely delighted that the Department for Education will be supporting Latin in schools and helping more pupils to have the challenge and fun of learning about the ancient world.”

The opposite view was summed up by Nazir Afzal, the chair of a further education college, who tweeted: “We will continue to give students the skills-based learning they need for the 21st century, not for the 1st.”

But enough about what the adults think; how about you? Would you want to learn Latin? Or would you prefer to learn Mandarin or a modern European language? Vote in our poll and leave us a comment!

Would you want to learn Latin at school?

35 Comments

Leave a Reply

weirdcat · 3 years ago

No, not right now at least. I'm focusing on Spanish and I think it would be hard to learn another language at the same time.
First to comment!!!!

scarlet10 · 3 years ago

french or spanish would be better

123emperor · 3 years ago

Yes because most English words like bicycle are made from Latin words so I can understand the more clearly and it would be nice to learn a new language.

phoebeh · 3 years ago

First to comment!

Haha, I'm already learning Latin and I find it quite fun to see how English has adapted some of its language from Latin. I don't see any other reason of why people shouldn't learn Latin other than their own personal opinion about it, and although it isn't an official 'language' spoken by people, it's still fun.

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phoebeh · 3 years ago

Also, I actually am homeschooled so I can choose what to learn, but I think in secondary school, in private schools you have to learn Latin, so it's necessary.

applepear · 3 years ago

I already do lol :)

kuhuzoo9 · 3 years ago

I already learn Latin

kuhuzoo9 · 3 years ago

First to comment

jammycakes · 3 years ago

No because i think Latin would be harder to learn

cricbuzz · 3 years ago

I have learn Latin at my primary school and it is very fun

sherni · 3 years ago

Latin is a really ancient language, and many English words are based on it. It will be soooo cool to learn about it !!!😀

frogster10 · 3 years ago

I already learn Latin at school, it’s great fun! I hope that one day everyone gets the chance to!

milkpuddin · 3 years ago

yes and first to vote

milkpuddin · 3 years ago

I mean comment

vaquita · 3 years ago

I say yes as learning latin can help us learn complex english words and scientific animal names.

blackmamba · 3 years ago

Im not sure I could do this french is more my thing.

opalstar · 3 years ago

I'm up for it! It would be interesting to learn latin! You could use this knowledge elsewhere, it would help mentally too!

v_venkie · 3 years ago

No because Latin sounds really boring to learn and not many people speak latin today. A language like Italian or Spanish would be more interesting to learn because if we get a job there and if a customer doesn't speak English, then it would be easier to communicate with them as we know the language.

ridulfa · 3 years ago

I have just finished my last year doing Latin, and i have to say i didn’t enjoy it. Although it can be helpful, its not as enjoyable as other languages as it’s dead, so you cant really use it anywhere.

odinseye · 3 years ago

I would but mainly because I'm interested in the romans and they spoke Latin I think

marthajja · 3 years ago

Yes as it would help me understand an ancient language and might help us understand some of english

candyapple · 3 years ago

Yes we should learn Latin but when we're not focusing on a different language. It would be really cool to read Latin books as well as English ones as there'd be a different choice of stuff to read.

mothstar · 3 years ago

it would be interesting but I'm not sure

gurlgmzhi7 · 3 years ago

Yes, because why not? I mean, I find languages quite interesting and fun and I would love to expand my knowledge of Latin!

tiger.star · 3 years ago

Yes!!!!!!!!! I am learning Italian and I have just started learning french, but I would love to learn Latin!

I love anything about the Roman people, from myths to facts, so I would love it if they taught Latin in my school!

jaws1976 · 3 years ago

I'm happy learning Spanish

mwhitty · 3 years ago

Same to weird cat

gurlgmzhi7 · 3 years ago

We officially have some young linguistics (language learners) and I am one too! :) ;) ;D c: C: Congrats the congratulations 🎈🎈🎂🎂🎈!

hogwarts90 · 3 years ago

Well, to be honest I aready do! It’s actally quite fun once you get the hang Of it, however everyone says they hate it which is kinda harsh

ellabeegee · 3 years ago

I think it would be cool but pretty useless seeing as it is basically a dead language. Although I’d still like to do it

smartbryan · 3 years ago

No because it sounds boring

pollardian · 3 years ago

No, I'd prefer learning a language I'd actually use like Spanish or French.

pikachu74 · 3 years ago

No. I would prefer to learn Ancient Greek.

emi1234567 · 3 years ago

I would be a waste of time and nobody speaks it so who would you practice it with?

sophieling · 2 years ago

yes. at my school I learn Latin, French and Spanish, and latin is useful for deciphering vocabulary, as latin has lots of influence in both languages