This GCSE has something for everyone: art, history, philosophy, and politics. All these concepts are brought together and explored through the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. You don’t need to have studied Classics or Latin before, you can do this GCSE entirely from scratch and you don’t need to know any foreign languages, everything is in English.

The Homeric World: beginning with the Bronze Age civilisation of Mycenae you will undertake an in-depth study of archaeological evidence from Greece. The Trojan War took place at the end of this period of civilisation. The poet Homer wrote about the return journey of the hero Odysseus to his homeland of Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War. On the way he meets gods and goddesses, fierce tribes of warriors and man-eating monsters as he tries to return to his beloved wife, Penelope. Selected chapters are studied, and students will be expected to understand the plot, the characters and their relationships, and the role of the gods.

Women in the Ancient World: this is a new and innovative topic that explores both mythical figures from Greek and Roman legend but also uses literary, archaeological and artistic material to analyse the upbringing and education of women, their political rights, roles and duties as well as considering male attitudes towards women and how this has shaped our understanding of how women lived and were represented in the ancient world.

This subject is for you

If you have an interest in the ancient world and like to piece together evidence, think critically and problem solve. As such it will support any other subject since you will learn how to answer comprehension-style exam questions and develop essay writing skills.

Assessment 

• 100% exam

Exam Board

• OCR