10 November 2026
Mr Charlie Hailes, Head of Classics
Last week, we were delighted that leading classicist Dr John Taylor was able to spend a couple of days with us in the Classics Department. Dr John Taylor is the author of more than 15 published books, including the leading GCSE and A Level textbooks used for Greek and Latin.
Dr Taylor’s lessons focused on Greek mythology, in particular how monsters in ancient stories originated. The highlight of his visit, however, was the Greek mythology drama competition for students in Years 7 and 8, which he judged.
There was lots of interest in the competition, for which participants were given a brief based on three different myths. They chose one to dramatise and put lots of effort into the lunchtime rehearsals I led in the weeks running up to the competition.
It was great to see more than half of Year 7 and quite a few Year 8 students at the competition, which was held at lunchtime on Wednesday 4 November in a packed Sixth Form lecture theatre.
After everyone had performed, Dr Taylor announced the results, as follows:
1st place - Sienna J, Alicia P, Meghan P, Georgia W, who won for their extraordinary telling of Aeneas and Dido's encounter, including the rowing of the ship. We enjoyed the humour and complexity with involvement from the gods!
2nd place - Emma-Gracie A O-P, Caitlyn L, Scarlett L-D, Indiana V-R. The group’s narration of Atalanta's upbringing and the discussion of prophecies were intriguing and the background scenes were impressive.
3rd place - Imo H, Rosie H, Henny H, Clara L, Evie L. The girls were confident in their delivery and were very engaging actors, including the use of a narrator unicorn and humour throughout!
I was immensely proud of all the competitors and was glad not to have to choose the winners myself! Mrs Jenkins, Dr Wade and Mrs Haythorne were also very impressed with the talent and enthusiasm shown.
We look forward to offering other exciting opportunities to help students continue to explore their passion for all areas of classics.