Cambridge Latin Reading Competition

On Tuesday the 8th of November, a team consisting of Cillian R, Oliver H, Dominic C, Thomas R (Year 11) and Grace H (Year 12) represented the School at the Cambridge Latin Reading Competition. This is an annual event held at the Faculty of Classics of Cambridge University and requires entrants to perform a piece of unadapted Latin prose or verse. Entries are judged based on pronunciation, performance and attention to the meter of the piece if it is poetry. All of the members of the RHS team performed fantastically, and competition is usually fierce, with the standard being set exceptionally high: many entrants are current or prospective Oxbridge candidates.

Out of six categories, RHS won two prizes: Thomas R won 2nd prize in the GCSE Latin Verse category, being praised by the judge, Dr Chris Whitton of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, for his accurate reflection of the meter in his performance of Virgil's Aeneid. Grace H then took the 2nd prize in the most competitive category of the event: the Senior Latin Verse category. Again, Dr Whitton praised Grace's attention to both the meter and the emotive performance of the piece.

This marks the first time that the Royal Hospital School has been awarded prizes in this event, and signals a promising future for Latin and Classics within the school and the wider educational community. Many thanks and congratulations to all pupils who took part, and we look forward to entering the Junior Competition in the Summer Term.