After the news that art history A-level will be dropped as a subject, readers have been condemning the move to scrap archaeology A-level completely, and classical civilisation from the examination board AQA.
Sir Tony Robinson, who fronted the hit television show Time Team, has condemned the recent scrapping of archaeology A-level as “a barbaric act”. Almost 6,000 people have signed a petition calling for the subject to be saved, and Robinson has voiced his support for the campaign.
Below are some of our readers’ comments on the news. You can click on the time stamps to view the whole conversation and add your thoughts.
‘Classical civilisation was by far the most interesting course’
‘It enriched my life way beyond what I could have imagined’
Studying classics was the greatest thing I ever did. It has impacted on everything I know in my life. I'm a science graduate too. It enriched my life way beyond what I could have imagined. Literally everything in the west links back to classical studies
‘I got into Imperial College with an A-level in classical civilisation’
10 years ago I got into Imperial College to study Physics with a three A offer, which I satisfied with Physics, Maths, and Classical Civilisations.
‘It was a real gateway to classics for us state school kids’
Class Civ was an amazing A-Level to take. I studied Homer, Virgil, the tragedians and Aristophanes in addition to the development of Greek sculpture and the archaeology of Greek sanctuaries. Yes, we studied the texts in English, but when I arrived at Oxford to read Classics I had actually studied a far wider range of texts than my tute partners who'd taken Greek and Latin. It was a real gateway to the subject for us state school kids.
‘I used a lot of the work I did for A-level for my degree’
I did classics at A-level, and enjoyed it. It was my best subject and I went on to do a degree in it. I looked back on my sixth form days as a time when I was really able to get stuck into a subject - my teachers were absolutely brilliant. I ended up using a lot of the work I did for A-level for my degree; indeed my work on Aristophanes, written as a sixteen year old new to the subject, became the backbone of a third year dissertation.
But...
I was constantly being asked what it was all for, and looking back as a thirty something, I do wonder just a little. It felt very niche, it hasn't given me a backdrop to a wider range of language or literature, and yes, whilst I did enjoy it I wonder whether the price, for both my parents and myself, was worth paying.
‘Ancient Greece and Rome were incredibly important eras in European history so binning them is a huge mistake’
I did the Classics A Level last year and I personally hated it but I definitely think it has value as a subject. Ancient Greece and Rome were incredibly important eras in European history so binning them is a huge mistake. I mostly used it to help me get into a uni course in History, but multiple people in my class went onto study latin, archaeological or ancient history based degrees with them. I think if they've got to get rid of a subject, it would be more reasonable to combine archaeology and classics into a single 'ancient history' a level.
‘Classical civilisation was one of the most interesting and useful subjects I studied’
Classical history was on the most interesting and useful subjects I studied. As an English teacher, the books I read enthralled me more than anything else. How very sad! I'm sick of the exam boards being so narrow and money minded. Like the ENTIRE education system. Everything is about money and value added. Nothing is about the joy of leaning anymore. Continuing to make decisions like this will only lead to more teachers leaving the profession as I am. What a travesty.
‘It has likely made me a more balanced person’
Although my work and brain are very much in engineering, while at school many years ago I studied Classical Civilisation. It has enriched my life in many areas and likely made me a more balanced person. Sad to see such subjects being abandoned.
I recently completed my Classical Civilisation A-Level and I'm just glad I got to do it while it was an option as it was by far the most interesting course. I even volunteered for an open day at my college and spent the whole time convincing people to go up to Classics and check it out! I couldn't rate it enough. Sad to see it go, although I'm sure it won't be without a fight!