You’re in the (Roman) army now!

Boys learned about life as a Roman soldier by taking part in drill practice – with the orders given in Latin.

Visitor John Eagle, an expert in the Roman way of life and in Roman warfare, put the Year 7 pupils through their parade-ground paces at the end of a highly interactive Latin session held as part of QE’s inaugural Enrichment Week.

Lining the boys up in formation, Mr Eagle called out orders to “turn left”, “turn right” or “about turn” in Latin, and those who got it wrong were asked to sit down. The pace of his instructions quickened as he went along, but by the end, a large group of boys were still not ‘out’.

Earlier in the session, Mr Eagle showed the boys a range of swords, shields, knives and spears, demonstrating how and when they were used in battle. Boys were also invited up to the front to try on various helmets and pieces of armour, including chain mail.

Latin teacher Dilprit Kaur, one of the day’s organisers, said: “It was a wonderful, interactive session which brought to life a fascinating aspect of ancient Roman life.

Mr Eagle’s organisation, Legion 14, has been around for many years and is highly respected, often providing advice, costumes and people for television programmes about the Romans.”

QE’s new Enrichment Week aims to build further on the School’s very wide range of extra-curricular activities – an important facet of QE life. It features sessions arranged by the academic departments in order to develop academic, personal and thinking skills in pupils from Years 7–10.