London Classical Reading Competition

This Classical Reading Competition, which is supported by the Classical Association, will be held on Wednesday 2 March at Westminster School, 17 Dean’s Yard, London SW1P 3PF.  The school is a five-minute walk from St. James’s Park Tube, or a 15-minute walk from Victoria Station.  The event will begin at 2 pm and finish by 5 pm.  We will break for tea after the first section, from about 3-3.20 pm. Masks should be worn while inside and removed when performing.  Unfortunately it is not possible to invite candidates’ parents to attend.  Commemorative prizes will be awarded. The competition is in six sections, with one entry only from each school per section.  No candidate may enter for more than one Latin section.

1. Beginners’ Latin, open to pupils who have not yet completed five terms of Latin (an individual, a pair, or a group of three candidates): Cambridge Latin Course Book 1, Stage 12, “finis”.

• Beginners’ Greek, open to pupils who have not yet completed five terms of Greek (an individual, a pair, or a group of three candidates): Babrius, Fable 122, “Doctor Wolf”.

• Pre-GCSE Latin, open to one pupil who has not yet taken Latin GCSE: Virgil, Aeneid 2.776-789.

• Greek dialogue, open to an individual or a pair of candidates at any stage: Aeschylus, Agamemnon 931-947 and 958-960.

• Open Latin, open to one candidate at any stage: Catullus, Poem 8.

• Greek chorus, open to a group of six to ten pupils at any stage: Euripides, Hippolytus 525-554.

Please send entries via the application form, with the fee of £30 per school, by Wednesday 9 February.  We will need the names of candidates by Wednesday 23 February. Please note: copies of the passages marked with macrons, and the scansion of the chorus, are included with this invitation, along with unmarked copies.  The macrons and scansion will not be included in the copies from which the candidates will read at the competition.

Booking Form | Passages for 2022 (with macrons) Passages for 2022 (without macrons) | Scansion for Chorus

Please send replies by email or post to: Mr Joseph Ireland, Teacher of Classics Westminster School, 17 Dean’s Yard, London SW1P 3PF. email: