A Level Classical Civilisation

[crazycrofter]

Does anyone have an opinion on this subject from recent experience eg how hard is it? What’s it most similar to in terms of skills required - history? English?

It would probably be taken with Psychology and either History or Geography. At the moment she’s thinking she wants to do a Psychology degree, for which you need a Science A Level. That’s fulfilled by taking Psychology at A Level so she can do two essay subjects alongside.

Alternatively she would probably do History, Geography and Psych at a different school. School A doesn’t allow her to do Hist/Geog/Psych together due to option block clashes - they’re her initial favourite subjects. But if she suddenly takes to the idea of classics school B doesn’t offer that so it may come down to subject preferences if she likes both schools equally.

She recently dropped Latin GCSE because she found the grammar really hard. It’s difficult to know whether she actually liked the other aspects because the grammar took over somewhat! I know back in early year 10 she was enjoying Roman Life.

[Daogroupie]

Classics and Class Civ (as it is known as) are two different subjects.

Classics at University is the study of Ancient Greece and Rome through its Language, its History, its Philosophy, Sculpture etc.

Class Civ is more like a study of History and Literature in translation so it is certainly closer to History than anything else.

It will not enable a student to study a Classics degree but there are courses where you can study Rome and Greek Literature in translation.

If she did not enjoy the grammar in Latin GCSE then a Classics degree would certainly not be for her but perhaps she would enjoy a Classics in translation degree or a degree in Ancient History.

There are courses where Classics is part of the History Department and taught as Ancient History.

If she enjoys Roman Life then she would be able to study that as part of a History degree.

How did she find the literature?

I would recommend Hist, Geog and Psychology and it is a shame that combination is not available at her school. DG

[PerpetualStudent]

...

If she did not enjoy the grammar in Latin GCSE then a Classics degree would certainly not be for her but perhaps she would enjoy a Classics in translation degree or a degree in Ancient History.

There are courses where Classics is part of the History Department and taught as Ancient History.

If she enjoys Roman Life then she would be able to study that as part of a History degree.

How did she find the literature?

I would recommend Hist, Geog and Psychology and it is a shame that combination is not available at her school. DG

...and if she changes her mind on Psychology there are lots of archaeology degrees that include Roman archaeology

PS

[kenyancowgirl]

Just to throw a spanner in the works - Hist/Geog/Psych at A levels is a HUGE amount of work - they are all massive essay type subjects, so she needs to bear that in mind. Psychology IS an essay subject itself with the addition of massive research elements - Geography is similar, and History is pretty pure essay!

If she is considering Psychology at uni, she may want to take Core maths - if she chooses not to take Maths at A level - a significnat proportion of a degree in Psych is statistics (up to 40%) usually.

[mike1880]

I'd second the maths suggestion for Psychology, it wasn't until I met a Psychology graduate that I realised how little statistics I actually knew despite it being a not insubstantial part of my own degree. I'd be doubtful whether Psychology A-level is recognised as a science A-level by many Psychology departments (I'm pretty sure most would say that there are other A-levels they'd prefer to see) but others will be better placed than me to answer that.

As said already, Class Civ is broadly history (including art history) and literature but AIUI the exact nature of the A-level depends on which module options the school chooses, she needs to know what they'd be before she can make an informed decision. It's a broad enough subject that most people can find something to really dislike about it if they want to (last time I looked the Student Room had a hatful of threads complaining about it) but daughter loved it, including the architecture bits which I believe most people don't like. Most uni Classics departments offer Classical Studies (or some variation of the name) which is the same thing at degree level.

[crazycrofter]

Just to clarify, neither of these schools are her current school - she’s decided she definitely wants to move to a co-Ed school for sixth form.

We’ve checked various uni entry requirements from Oxford down and they all say they accept Psych as a science but perhaps she’d better email then to double check she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

She’s saying this morning that she probably doesn’t want to do Classical Civ but I think that’s partly because she prefers the other school.

Thanks for the comments about essay subjects - I know History will be hard but I thought Psychology and Geography would be more mixed? I can’t see her taking Maths, she’s just not really into it. Biology is a faint possibility instead of Geography and would obviously be better prep for a Psychology degree. But my worry is she may change her mind about that anyway and I feel she’d probably get the best grades in essay subjects.

[scary mum]

DD did psychology. She was applying for science courses where 2 science A levels were needed. The majority did not count it as a science so she was restricted where she could apply to. However this was a few years ago, it may be that the new A level is considered more "sciencey".

[KB]

Maybe she needs to check the specs for potential psychology degree courses.
Her aversion to maths could be an issue.


It sounds as though the A level spec may have changed but in the past the A level didn't correspond to degree level subject.

[crazycrofter]

We’ve checked lots of university entrance requirements. All say 1 Science which can include Psychology - in fact Oxford says this is desirable but not essential. So far the only exception I’ve seen is the MSc at Glasgow which wants 2 sciences - but they also run an MA which only requires one.

I’m veering towards the Hist/Geog/Psych school anyway though as they allow you to start 4 subjects which would be useful - I’m wondering whether she should also try Biology but I know she wouldn’t do that as an initial 3rd subject.