Despite his annus horribilis, persona non grata Gavin Williamson’s scheme to offer Latin lessons to state school kids is still being pushed ahead by his successor. A contract just launched by the government, and spotted by Guido, confirms the £4 million bill for its “Latin Excellence Programme“. To quote verbatim it is to: 

“…improve pupils’ attainment via increased access to, and uptake of, GCSE in Latin, as part of contributing to pupils’ broader Classics education.”

The scheme will be offered ad hoc across 40 state schools as part of a four-year pilot scheme, with the hope to eventually move on from the current status quo of limited classics provision. Guido would have thought teaching kids how to code would been more useful, after all tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis…