Classics Trip to Italy

Pupils headed to the Bay of Naples for some fascinating insight into Roman history – and plenty of pizza and gelato!

The start of the Easter holidays saw 40 girls across Years 8 and 9 embark upon an early coach for Stansted: their ultimate destination – the Bay of Naples. After a long first day of travel, the girls were treated to a slap-up dinner at their hotel, before heading to bed in advance of an early start.

We began our sightseeing in perhaps the most iconic town of the ancient Mediterranean: the ruins of Pompeii. We took in the amphitheatre, forum, theatre and baths, as well as some of the most luxurious houses in the town, including the home of our very own Caecilius! After a lunch of margherita pizza, we headed to the Naples Archaeological Museum, where Mr Prance had created a treasure hunt of various classical artefacts – highlights included the famous ‘Cave Canem’ mosaic and the Farnese Hercules.

On Saturday we climbed the slopes of the famed Mount Vesuvius – no eruptions this time! With the wonderful vista of the Bay of Naples as our backdrop, Mrs Wilson led us through an explanation of the geography of the volcano. Our next stop included the beautiful temples at Paestum, where we strolled among the ruins as the sun set; upon our return to the hotel, we enjoyed a screening of Disney’s Hercules.

Sunday brought another highlight: our trip to Mamy Lucia’s pizza-making workshop! This acclaimed MasterChef winner taught the girls how to create pizza dough from scratch; we were then treated to lunch (including Nutella pizzas!), before sitting in the garden, marvelling at the view of Capri. We then headed to Herculaneum to examine the still standing remains of the ancient town, while Mrs Cooper impressed us all with her recall of Pompeian wall styles! We enjoyed a classical quiz (assembled by Mr Brown) in the evening, accompanied by some impromptu fireworks.

On the final day, we hopped between the remains of several ‘mega mansions’: Villa Ariana, Villa San Marco, and Villa Poppaea. Mr Prance and Mr Thicknesse, our erstwhile guides, led us around each site, introducing us to the key artefacts and explaining their significance. After one final stop for gelato, we were homeward bound; we arrived back at South Hampstead late in the evening, with our very happy (but very tired!) girls reunited with their parents.

At South Hampstead, all students study Latin in Years 7 to 9; Latin and Classical Greek are on offer at both GCSE and A Level, as well as Classical Civilisation at A Level.