A day in the life of a classics student

7.30am: Catered halls breakfast

To begin the day, I had breakfast at Willoughby Hall (my halls of residence). In catered halls, breakfast is included in your accommodation fees, so I do not want to miss out before a busy day!

I had a cooked English breakfast, although there is cereal, toast etc. if people want that instead. I have some food allergies and the catering staff are so helpful and accommodate them. If you are also someone who has food allergies who is concerned about catered halls, my experience is to not be!

Today, I sat with friends in my halls. Each day is different, since not everybody has contact hours in the morning. Cooked breakfast is served until 9.30am, and cereal and toast are available for longer, so you don’t need to be an early riser!

9am: Latin self-directed study

I did some Latin studying in my room, before my workshop at 10am.

10am: Latin workshop

My first contact hour of the day was a Latin workshop in the Law and Social Sciences Building, which is less than a 10-minute walk from Willoughby Hall.

I am one of many students who had not learned either Latin or Ancient Greek before, so I was unsure how I would be able to handle both languages. I can only speak for Latin (because I don't begin Ancient Greek until second-year), but it is taught methodically, with clear structure.

This workshop was taught by the module convenor, Edmund Stewart, and is used as a revision workshop from the last week of teaching and independent study.

We spent time in groups analysing exercises in the textbook we use, Learn Latin from the Romans by Eleanor Dickey. Latin surprisingly became my favourite aspect of the course because of the satisfaction I get from being able to recognise the clear improvement and development of my skill in it.

11am: Library study with friends

Following our Latin workshop, I went to Hallward library, which is just opposite the Law and Social Sciences Building. I went with my friend Grace, who is also studying classics; we mostly take the same modules.

The library has a cafe which we sat in (it sells Starbucks coffee!). We had a social chat and did some Latin recollection games for an hour. I would state a Latin noun declension and ask Grace to decline the endings, giving tips to help.

One great part of studying at university is finding people who have similar interests as you! 

12noon: Lunch at Portland Building

Me and Grace then went to the food court in Portland Building (the Students' Union building), which has a variety of food to choose from. We sat with a group of Grace’s friends from her halls of residence, whom I had not met before. They were very friendly; building friendships at university feels very natural because it happens on a daily basis!

1pm: 'Interpreting Ancient Literature' lecture

I then went to my ancient literature lecture where we studied Virgil’s (a Latin poet) Aeneid. I came to university to study epic poetry, so I was so excited for this lecture!

3pm: Study break

I had an hour before my next lecture, so I socialised with Grace until then. It was much needed and helped me be able to focus on the upcoming lecture.

4pm: 'Interpreting Ancient History'

At the Sir Clive Granger Building, me and Grace met up with our friend Bea, and her friend whom she introduced us to, and we all sat together in the lecture theatre. The lecture is taught by George Woudhuysen, a Roman historian in the Department of Classics.

George’s lectures are incredibly entertaining and engaging; he has a style of elocution that means rather complex information is given to students in a digestible way. Having a lifelong interest in history myself, I deeply appreciate George’s enthusiasm to generate the same interest in others. One important thing to note is how George, when being told my name once, has always remembered it since, and greets me whenever he sees me. 

This is one of the reasons which makes me feel like I belong here at the university!

6pm: Dinner

I returned to Willoughby Hall to eat dinner and had curry. There is a variety of food for different diets, such as vegan.

7.15pm: Christian Union weekly meetup

In the evening, I went to meet up with other members of the Christian Union at the university. It is a great chance to catch-up with friends who are doing other courses on different schedules. Following the busiest day of the week, being able to unwind with friends provides an opportunity to relax.

9pm: Relax

Following the meet-up, I wanted to relax a bit more. Since I only have one hour of contact the next day, I knew I had plenty of time to hang out with friends and then be able to wind down on my own before bed.