GCSE Classical Civilisation

 

Lecturer: Lynn Bright MA

 

 

The Syllabus (Specification)

 

This online course is designed to prepare students for OCR GCSE 1940 Classical Civilisation.

 

 

GCSE Classical Civilisation Course Outline

 

The GCSE course is divided into two sections which correspond to the two exam papers.

 

Paper 1: Greek and Roman Civilisation (Topics 1-10)

 

  • Greece in the 5th and 4th centuries BC
  • The Roman World 81 BC - 138 AD

 

1. Greek Religion                                                                                        

2. Home and Family in Athens

3. Greek Athletic and Theatrical Festivals

4. Greek Art and Architecture *

5. Sparta and the Spartan System

6. Roman Religion

7. Roman Home and Family Life

8. Roman Sport and Leisure

9. Pompeii

10. Roman Britain

 

Section 1: Stimulus picture with accompanying questions. (24 marks)

 

Section 2: Essay question from a choice of titles. (16 marks)

 

Paper 2: Greek and Roman Literature (Topics 11-20)

 

11. Homer: Odyssey Books 9, 10, 21-23

12. Homer: Iliad Books 1, 9, 22 and 24

13. Sophocles: Oedipus the King and Antigone

14. Euripides: Hippolytus and Alcestis

15. Aristophanes: Acharnians and Lysistrata

16. Herodotus: The Persian War

17. Virgil: Aeneid Books 1, 2 and 4

18. Ovid: Metamorphoses Books 7 and 8

19. Pliny: Letters

20. Tacitus: Empire and Emperors

 

Section 1: Stimulus text with accompanying questions. (24 marks)

 

Section 2: Essay question from a choice of titles. (16 marks)

 

 

Please note: Although the syllabus contains a coursework option (i.e. replacing one topic), the College-on-the-Net Internet version does not. Students are therefore required to study a total of five topics. The syllabus provides a number of options which schools/colleges/centres/teachers may choose to teach. This course is based on three topics from Paper 1 and two topics from Paper 2.

 

The course fee includes lessons, which cover all five topics. These will prepare you for the GCSE Classical Civilisation at either the Foundation Tier (Grades G-C) or the Higher Tier (Grades D-A*). Please note that the course is the same for each tier but students may choose the one they feel is the most appropriate for examination.

 

Although the course follows the OCR scheme of work, students are strongly advised to visit OCR's website at: www.ocr.org.uk (follow the links by typing in GCSE; Classics; Classical Civilisation in the relevant boxes) to view details of the topics or click here.

 

Please note that students should refer to this OCR document when preparing to enter for the exam as it is the student’s responsibility for ensuring that he or she is entered for the correct exam components. You will find the entry codes in section 4.5 on page 13 of the OCR syllabus.

 

Each lesson consists of:

 

 

 

Additional:    

 

 

 

  • Student Common Room (available shortly)

 

 

The Examination

 

Candidates are required to take TWO written examinations. There is no coursework element to this GCSE Classical Civilisation course (see above).  The exam usually takes place in June of each year.

 

The written examinations must be taken at a local centre. We regret that due to OCR's examination regulations we are unable to offer you the facility of taking the examination with College-on-the-Net via the Internet. OCR no longer allows students to take the exam overseas.

 

Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to find a suitable examination centre. We are however, developing a network of local centres that will be happy to allow you to register for the examination. If our list does not include one in a suitable location, we will endeavour to help you to find a more convenient local centre and you can arrange to take the examination there.

 

Your course fee does not include the examination fee. There is an additional fee, payable to your local centre, to cover the cost of taking the exam. Your local centre will advise you of their charge which will include the standard entrance to the examination + an administration fee. Private candidates need to complete a separate form for their Personal Study. As stated above, overseas students are no longer permitted to sit the OCR exams via the British Council.

 

 

 

   Suggested Reading

 

A list of suggested books is provided for the course. You do not need to buy any of these books, as they are usually available from a local library. If you do wish to purchase books you will probably need to ask a good local bookshop to order them for you, as most bookshops do not normally hold them in stock. Discounted books, which are usually dispatched within a few days, can also be purchased over the Internet from several suppliers such as Amazon Books. As College-on-the-Net is an Amazon Affiliate, their website can be accessed from your lesson pages or from the College Shop at the website www.college-on-the-net.co.uk. Simply click on the title of the book you require, whilst online and it will automatically call up a synopsis and reader rating.

 

 

The books you will probably find most useful for GCSE Classical Civilisation are listed at the end of each topic in the official syllabus at www.ocr.org.uk.


Self-Assessment Quizzes

 

Registering with Quia

Some of the lessons include quizzes or online assessments. In order to participate in these you will need to register with Quia as a College-on-the-Net student in the GCSE Classical Civilisation class. It’s free to register and one of the features is that your scores will be available to you immediately. They are also automatically saved for you to look at again later should you wish to do so. Registration details are provided with the first lesson.