I undertook research into the use of conversational, spoken Latin in the UK classroom, due to my intention to answer three specific research questions. Firstly, I wanted to find out how easy it is for the contemporary Classics teacher to implement communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin. Secondly, I wished to discover what techniques the Classics teacher can adopt to implement communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin, within the framework of active, oral communication in Latin. Thirdly, I wanted to consider how positive is the attitude of students engaging with communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin. I was introduced to this area of research on my PGCE course of study at Cambridge University. Furthermore, I was especially inspired by the scholarship of Coffee (2012), King (2011), Lloyd (2016), Patrick (2015), Rasmussen (2015) and Tunberg (2011) who have written so positively about the unique ability of communicative approaches to unlock the joy of experiencing and employing the Latin language for individuals of all ages.

The unseen translation - translation of a passage of Latin that the student has not seen before, under constraints of time and with limited access to resources - is a persistent element of Latin courses, especially at school level. It is present in A Level courses in England (for example, OCR 2017), in the Scottish Highers (SQA, 2017), in the New Zealand curriculum (NZQA, 2017), and in Australia (VCAA, 2004; Board of Studies, 2009), to name but a few examples. In Victoria, courses have undergone various changes in the last 30 years, but the unseen has remained a constant: there seems to be a consensus among teachers and examiners that the ability to translate a passage of Latin on the spot is a rigorous and enduring test of at least one aspect of a student's skills in Latin.

Discovered 12 metres (40 feet) below the surface in the Santa Rosa Island region, this rare and unprecedented archaeological cache of pottery and sculpture has flummoxed the archaeological community. Some scientists debate the authenticity of this newly-discovered society because of the apparent gender equality. But former native-Californian artist M F Dondelinger says sometimes it's hard to get our minds around new concepts and images to understand their meanings. ‘What we need now is to be open to interpreting this unusual society. I think it requires a whole paradigm shift on how some early communities are interpreted.’

My introduction to Latin came at the hands of my prep school headmaster, now a little over 20 years ago. An unyielding authoritarian of the old school, he had by then owned and run his institution for 49 years as the unquestioned ruler of an educational empire. In spite of the Spartan conditions – ‘We've never gone in very much for “facilities” here,’ he once observed – and wildly eccentric characters, the school turned out scholars (and future classicists) at an impressive rate.

Prompted by reading about projects elsewhere in the country – Birmingham, Liverpool, London for instance – I am writing to share my experience of working with a project to offer Latin to pupils in an 11 – 16 Catholic Academy in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. It is an unusual arrangement, but one which offers some ideas about what might be achieved elsewhere.

The purpose of this article is to encourage classical colleagues to develop their own illustrated talks to deliver to school assemblies (both senior and junior). In my experience, an illustrated talk goes down well with any audience (whatever its age) and can have an immediate impact on their view of the classical world (especially its ‘relevance’). Assemblies can be delivered in many ways: a talk; interactive; class presentation etc. This article concentrates only on the preparation and delivery of an illustrated talk. I have divided the article into four sections: the value of classical assemblies; tips on preparing and delivering assemblies; resources and copyright; and an example of a classical assembly (The Adventures of Theseus).

First, where does the Renaissance fit in chronologically with other periods of the past? There is general agreement that the Renaissance should be dated from 1300 to 1650, though some believe that a more accurate and meaningful starting date would be 1400/1450. The Middle Ages is generally taken to be the period 500 to 1500 (a considerable overlap with the Renaissance then), though some would date the start to the Arab conquests beginning about 640. A period of the Middle Ages is traditionally known as the ‘Dark Age(s)’. Those who believe that the term is still appropriate (many reject it because of its negative connotations) date this from 500/600 to 800, though some extend it to 1000. (See later for the origins of the terms ‘Renaissance’, ‘Middle Ages’ and ‘Dark Age(s)’.)