Latin

[chickenfeet]

 I was chatting with Canadian counter-tenor Daniel Cabena today as preparation for wring an article about him for Opera Canada.  We talked a lot about different repertoire and audiences and particularly about the early/baroque sacred music that he sings a lot but almost exclusively in Europe.  Such music, of course, involves Latin texts and he wondered how much lack of knowledge of the language was a barrier to audiences.  I confess I don't really know whether Latin is much studied in Europe anymore though I have difficulty imaging German gymnasia not offering it.  It's certainly pretty much dead, pre-university, in Ontario.  I would do a poll but Dreamwidth only allows paid users to do that.

So, in comments please, where/when you attended secondary (for whatever value of "secondary" makes sense to you) school and whether Latin was offered or required.

For myself, I attended secondary school in England in the late 60s/early 70s and Latin was required for the 'A' set for five years to 'O' level.  If not 'A' set it could be dropped for another subject after three years.  This, being England before National Curriculum nonsense varied from school to school but as Latin 'O' level was still required by Oxford and Cambridge very much the norm at schools which expected anybody to be headed in that direction.  Even my brother's grammar school offered it though I suspect the last pupil to attend an Oxbridge college was John Harvard.

Comments

[legionseagle]

Born 1961. Secondary (selective, grammar) school 1974. Latin 1975 (2/3 of class). Could have elected to drop one year later, didn't. ("O" level; 1/3 of total school intake in my year). Was certainly expected to drop 1978 (post "O"Level). Did "A" Level (10 pupils out of perhaps 90).

[ironed_orchid]

Western Australia, school from 1977-1989, no Latin offered at my state run high school. No requirement at University. I think these days even those studying Classics (in the few universities where it's still offered) are not expected to have acquired Latin before enrolling.

[flemmings]

Canada, Catholic high school from 1962-1967. (We went to grade 13 in those days.) Latin mandatory from grades 9-12, even after Vatican 2, for everyone but the commercial stream.

[kalypso]

Attended girls' direct grant school (which turned independent after withdrawal of grant) 1973-1980. Latin was compulsory for first three years, and available for O-level and A-level. Greek was available from O-level onwards. Can't remember precise figures for Latin in my year (60-70 girls), but quite a lot did O-level and maybe half a dozen did A-level. Three did Greek O-level and only I did A-level. (S-levels also available; can't remember whether anyone other than me did them.) None of this was required by Oxbridge by my time, and a lot of the classicists in my year arrived without Greek and were taught it on a parallel course called Mods B.

[sollers]

Born 1940s, did Classical Latin to A Level, found it all but useless for understanding Church Latin.

[oursin]

Girls' grammar school, 1960s; doing Latin as an O-level marked one out as in the 'academic', going-to-university stream. (I think it was compulsory before that, at least in the A forms.)

[owlfish]

US high school c. 1990. One Latin class was available by closed circuit tv. There were often logistical problems with classes as a result and it was streamed from a different high school whose schedule did not line up exactly with ours; I didn't take it there/then. (Only later at university.)

[coughingbear]

Comprehensive to age 16, early 80s - Latin not offered. Did it at O level at my sixth form college alongside A levels.

[kotturinn]

UK - girls' direct grant school, secondary 1966-1973 (I suspect same group as kalypso - G(P)DST perchance). Latin for all in first 3 years, then available as 'O' and 'A' level options. Taken at 'O' level by around half the year (60 total), major dropout beyond (I am the proud(!?!) holder of an 'A' at 'O' level and an 'O' at 'A' level, as one of a group of 3 where one of the others went on to read modern languages, and the other classics, at University). Classical Greek available at 'O' (taken as an option in years 4 and 5) and 'A' level - I took it to 'O' level, along with 3 others, IIRC only the future classicist took it at 'A' level.

[gramarye1971]

Northern US village high school (total student body ~1200), late 1990s. French and Spanish were the only in-class languages available - Latin, as well as Italian and German, theoretically could be done as independent study with distance learning/video streaming, but I personally never knew anyone who did. Some of the larger and better-funded districts in the county, and the parochial schools, did offer it, though.

[white_hart]

UK comprehensive 1985-1990, state sixth form college 1990-92; Latin not offered at all (to the great disappointment of this Rosemary Sutcliff fan). Also not required by Oxford and Cambridge any more by then.