Ancient history to disappear at A-level despite its popularity

Ancient history is to become a thing of the past, with the only exam board offering it as an A-level subject now planning to ditch the course.

The decision by the Oxford and Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts (OCR) exam board has led to concerns that pupils will no longer understand the legacies of ancient civilisations.

The subject has introduced students to topics such as the birth of Athenian democracy, the growth of the Roman Empire, the beginnings of Christianity, the revolt by Spartacus against slavery and the battle of Thermopylae, where the stand by an small Greek force against the Persians in 480 BCE became the byword for heroic struggles.

Last night experts were saying that all these were examples of history that would be lost on future generations.

The irony is that the subject is being ditched at a time when it is growing in popularity - with 1,000 students taking the exam compared with just 300 at the turn of the century. The rise is partly being put down to recenttelevision programmes, such as Boris Johnson's series on the Roman Empire, films such as Gladiator and 300, and the BBC drama series, The Romans.

The OCR board says that ancient history will be incorporated into the classical civilisation A-level programmes of study - so it will not be completely lost.

Dr Peter Jones, of the National Co-ordinating Committee for Classics, said: " Studying classical civilisation is, say, studying Latin poetry whereas ancient history would cover the development of the Roman Empire.

"Students will study Sophocles and Oedipus - but not look at the history of the times. Why single out ancient history for the chop? One imagines OCR is now planning to scrap all histories. After all, they could be taught as part of the English or geography syllabus."

Michael Fallon, the Conservative MP for Sevenoaks, who studied ancient history at A-level, added: "It seems extraordinary that the exam board has no interest in the massive political legacy of the ancient world.

"We are closing the window on the intensive study of our past at a time when it has never been more urgently needed."

An OCR spokesman said the board would be offering four A-levels - in Latin, classical Greek, classical civilisation and a new subject, classics. Students choosing classics or classical civilisation could specialise in areas such as archaeology, history, literature or culture and society.

"Similar content to that in ancient history is covered within the classical Civilisation units," he added. "In addition, across the units there is a new ethos which requires candidates to study sources in their historical and cultural context."

The decision was an example of "dumbing down" the curriculum, said Boris Johnson, the Conservatives' higher education spokesman. He said: " How can we understand ourselves if we cut ourselves off from the past?"

What pupils will miss

* The Battle of Thermopylae - as seen in the film '300' - when a small Greek force held off the huge Persian army led by Xerxes in 480BCE.

* How democracy was first conceived in ancient Athens.

* The rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

* The revolt of the slaves led by Spartacus, against the Romans.

* The beginnings of Christianity and the life of Christ.

(by Richard Garner, Education Editor, The Independent - 31 March 2007)