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We are not enroling new students at this time.

Students currently studying towards the OCR AS and A Level examinations will be supported by the Distance Learning programme until Summer 2024. You may take this course for your own purposes and/or pleasure or to prepare for the A Level exams.

Please note that this is the page for the A Level Latin (2nd part) course. It consists of two components - Language and Literature. The prerequiste for the second part of the A Level is the AS course 2021-2022.

If you are a current student and need to enrol in modules to allow you to complete the course please email learning@cambridgescp.com to complete the process. 

 

Literature

Cicero, Pro Cluentio, taken from Murder at Larinum, 27-32 and 35-37

In 66 BC, Aulus Cluentius Habitus was tried for the attempted murder of Statius Albius Oppianicus the Elder. The prosecutor was Sassia, Cluentius' own mother. Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous statesman, orator and lawyer, defended Cluentius in his Pro Cluentio, a persuasive oratorical tour de force. The selections in this edition prove that Cicero was not above using character assassinations in his speeches, first attacking Oppianicus the Elder, then Sassia in a vivid, melodramatic narrative which distracts and diverts the jury from Cluentius' alleged crimes. (From Bloomsbury.com)

Virgil, Aeneid Book XII 728-952

Aeneid XII is the final book of Virgil's Roman epic. The war fought between Aeneas' refugee Trojans and the people of Latium here reaches a bloody, moving climax. The OCR selection contains two scenes of rich emotion focussed on the Italian war-leader Turnus as he reacts to military defeat and crisis, followed by the full narrative of the decisive single combat between Turnus and Aeneas with which the poem concludes. This is one of the great passages in Latin literature – grand in content and style, complex and challenging in its subject matter.  (Bloomsbury.com)

Language

The Independent Learner will study language through the translation of unseen texts from various authors, in order to develop a wider vocabulary and more complex understanding of syntax and accidence. The IL will also study Ovid and Livy as the verse and prose authors for the Unseen Translation exam.

There is no defined vocabluary list for the A Level in Latin. Rather, the qualification witll require learners to know and build upon words and regular compounds of the words, which are listed in the Defined Vocabulary List for AS Level Latin. This is found on the OCR website (www.ocr.org.uk)

Standard

Your e-tutor will always be an experienced, enthusiastic Latin teacher, who knows the course well and is familiar with ways to help you with any issues which may arise during the course. He or she is unlikely to be involved in this project for the money! Rather your tutor will want to help you get the most out of your study of Latin and the Roman world.

When you enrol for the course, we will send you, by post, amongst other materials, an Independent Learner's Guide, detailing what work to undertake in each session. For examination courses (Eduqas, AS/A Level), sessions are held online. Almost all sessions have a designated assignment to send to your e-tutor. Your e-tutor will mark your work and return it to you, with ideas on how you might improve and, like any tutor, will try to explain an idea or concept to you if you are not certain about it. You do not have to send work if you do not wish to do so, of course, but we strongly recommend that you do, as this will both inform you of how you are progressing, and help your e-tutor to assist you in your learning.

Most of our e-tutors tell us that they would like to be contacted by their students more frequently, rather than less, and no limit is placed on the amount of times you may contact your e-tutor.
All e-tutors have completed a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure and are competent in sending, receiving and marking work electronically. Should you have any concerns about your e-tutor at any stage, you can contact our office at any time.

AS Latin Language (H043/01)

AS Latin Literature (H043/02):
Prose: Cicero, Pro Cluentio, from Murder at Larinum, 1-7 and 10-11
Verse: Virgil, Aeneid Bok XII 1-106, 614-727

At A Level there are four components - two for language and two for literature. (For convenience, we will group these compenents as 'Language' and 'Literature'.) The literature set texts below are for the examination in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024. The overall OCR code for the A Level qualification is H443

Language 

Unseen Translation (01)

Unseen Prose Comprehension (02)

Literature

Prose Literaure (03): Cicero, Pro Cluentio,, taken from Murder at Larinum, 27-32 & 35-37. English: Cicero, Pro Cluentio, 9-18, 43-61, 181-185

Verse Literature (04): Virgil, Aeneid, Book XII 728-952. English: Virgil, Aeneid, Book XII

 

Language (H443/01 and 02)

You will need to purchase the following: 

Latin Unseens for A level, edited by Ashley Carter, Bristol Classical Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-85399-681-8

Latin Beyond GCSE, John Taylor, Bristol Classical Press, 2017, ISBN 9781474299831 [This is the second edition. If you have the 2009 first edition, please do not worry. It is valid for the course.]

Kennedy's Revised Latin Primer, Longman, 1962, ISBN 978-0582362406

Advanced Latin, Materials for A2 and Pre-U, Stephen Anderson, James Morewood, Katherine Radice, ISBN: 9781853-997297

Ovid Unseens, ed. Mathew Owen, Bloomsbury Academic, 2014, ISBN: 9781472509840

Ovid Amores I, John Barsby (ed.), Bloomsbury, 2013, ISBN: 9780906515457

Livy, Book XXI, ed. P. G. Walsh, Bristol Classical Press, 1991, ISBN: 978-0-862-921781

Livy, Hannibal’s War, translation by JC Yardley, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0199555970

Literature (H443/03 and 04)

For examination in 2023 and 2024:

You will need to purchase the following:

Prose (Group 2):

Cicero, Pro Cluentio, taken from Murder at Larinum, 27-32 and 35-37

To purchase: Cicero, Pro Cluentio, A Selection, edited by Matthew Barr, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN: 9781350060340

Verse (Group 4):

Virgil, Aeneid Book XII 728-952

To purchase: Virgil Aeneid XII, edited by James Burbidge, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN: 9781350059214

 

At A Level, each study session requires about 4 hours study and preparation time. There are 20 sessions for the Language and 20 sessions for the Literature. The total study time for the Language is therefore 80 hours; likewise, the total study time for the Literature is 80 hours.

The total study time for a whole A Level (second part) course (Language and Literature) is about 160 hours.

We advise students preparing for an A Level (second part) course in one academic year to study for about 8 hours per week for 20 weeks and allow for revision time.

A Level is a UK public examination and students should ensure that they have access to an examination centre which offers this exam before they enrol on the course.

School students are advised to approach their school's Exams Officer and ask that their school enters them for the examination.

Mature students may either approach local schools or contact us for assistance finding an examination centre. We may be able to help you by providing you with a list of some schools in your area that offer Latin; you would then need to contact these schools.

If you cannot find a school that is willing to enter you for your exams then a company like Tutors and Exams may be an option. Tutors and Exams provides examination and assessment facilities primarily aimed at private and home educated candidates. They currently have five examination centres located around the country: Bolton, Coventry, Doncaster, St Neots Cambridgeshire and Wimbledon. Please note that there is a charge for their services, although CSCP Distance Learners are eligible for the reduced "Partner" rate.

In all cases, firm arrangements should be made in the Autumn Term before the exam. While CSCP takes responsibility for tutoring students for the exams, we are not ourselves an examination centre and are unable to enter students for exams.

The A Level examination consists of four papers. They are the following:

The Unseen Translation (01) question paper has two sections. Candidates answer both
sections: 

Section A: The candidate will translate a passage of unseen prose into English (50 marks)

Section B: The candidate will translate a passage of unseen verse into English (45 marks)

Total: 100 marks

Time: 1 hour and 45 mins.

The section counts towards 33% of the total examination mark.

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In the Unseen Prose Comprehension (02)​ paper the candiate will answer Section A: complete a short translation, answer comprehension questions and grammar questions.

Total: 50 marks

Time: 1 hour and 15 min.

This section counts towards 17% of the total examination mark.

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In the Prose Literature (03) paper the candidate will answer Section A and Section B and Section C. In Section A, the candidate will answer questions on the set text they have studied from Group 1. In Section B, candidates will answer questions on the set texts in Group 2. In both sections, there will be comprehension questions, set text translation and an analysis question. In Section C, candidates will write an essay based on the set text from Group 2 and material read in translation.

Total: 75 marks

Time: 2 hours

This section counts towards 25% of the total examination mark.

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In the Verse Literature (04) paper the candidate will answer Section A and Section B and Section C. In Section A, the candidate will answer questions on the set text they have studied from Group 3. In Section B, candidates will answer questions on the set texts in Group 4. In both sections, there will be comprehension questions, set text translation and an analysis question. In Section C, candidates will write an essay based on the set text from Group 4 and material read in translation.

Total: 75 marks

Time: 2 hours

This section counts towars 25% of the total examination mark. 

Fixed End Date or Fixed Number of Weeks?: 
Fixed number of weeks
Fixed weeks duration: 
40