Blog by Laura Frosdick: Classics for All, Impact Awards
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InspirED: our series of blogs, where people from the Inspiration Trust community share their views and insights into their areas of expertise.
On a highly anticipated Friday this summer, after a much-needed caffeine stop, Ms Baxter and Ms Frosdick set off from Norwich Train Station to Leicester. Their mission? To attend the Classics for All's Impact Awards and to proudly collect Jane Austen College's certificate for Secondary of the Year.
The awards ceremony was held (for the first time in person!) in the Victorian Art Gallery at the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery. It celebrated the fantastic work of teachers, schools, and programmes supported by the charity. Before the ceremony, Ms Baxter explored the other galleries in the museum, including dinosaurs.
During the short ceremony, the host introduced Jane Austen College and said a few words about why it was chosen out of around 1,200 schools across the country that the charity supports. In particular, they focused on classical civilisation's impact on specific students in the school and the extracurricular opportunities the classics department offers, such as trips to the British Museum, Rome and Pompeii, and talks from academics. (The former definitely did not bring a tear or two to Ms Frosdick's eye).
Ms Baxter then went up on stage to receive the award. At the same time, Ms Frosdick delivered a very brief heartfelt speech about the growth of classics at Jane Austen College and the impact that it has had, not only students but also staff, such as one colleague, who initially, in their own words, 'hated it' until asked to go to Rome and Pompeii on a school trip, where they developed a passion and deep love for the subject through planning the trip and finding places to visit.
Following the ceremony, there was a buffet reception at which Ms Baxter and Ms Frosdick met with the other Award winners, including teachers from Greyfriars Academy in a faraway town known as King's Lynn, who had won Primary of the Year - the night has been a resounding success for the growing provision of classics in Norfolk Schools! The reception also allowed Ms Frosdick to reconnect with lecturers. Then, after filling up on a mixture of delicious food, it was back to the train station for a long journey back to Norwich, certificate firmly secured in Ms Baxter's hand.
A huge 'thank you' goes to Ms Turner, Ms Barnett, Mr Mumford and Ms Baxter for all their hard work within the department, as well as their assistance with the very lengthy application process. Thanks also goes to Rob Welton, alongside our Key Stage 5 (A-Level) students Kathryn, Amelia and Anna, and Key Stage 4 (GCSE) students Jack, Keely, and Emily, as well as Year 8s Sammy and Elliot, who provided Ms Frosdick with a beautiful selection of key quotes and images, that again contributed to our extremely impressive application. We are excited about the growth of classics at Jane Austen College and look forward to seeing where it all goes from here!