Huge congratulations go to all Year 7s who entered the Bristol Latin Play Competition, organised by the Classical Association, beating several schools in the area to win second prize with very stiff competition.

17 students worked beautifully as a team to produce a superb piece of work to celebrate 1900 years of the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. They learned about different nationalities and cultures represented by tombstones found nearby and to pronounce Latin with confidence. They also gave much of their own time to attend rehearsals and filming. Everyone played an important role, but Pepper Woods is to be commended for arranging all the filming and editing herself. We are delighted to show the performance to you after the girls have collected their certificates.

The judges commented that ‘all the actors performed with enthusiasm and evident enjoyment and the Latin was spoken intelligently. It was a lively, varied production full of pace and verve. Good use was made of the school’s grounds. Very good costumes (we loved the eagles and sheep) and it was good to see the inclusion of Barates and Regina*. A lot of work had gone into this entertaining production. Many congratulations to all for a clever way to commemorate the anniversary of Hadrian’s Wall.’

The judges also said: ‘I really enjoyed this play. It was such an original idea and a clever, witty script – with a nod to Monty Python. An impressive start with pictures of the wall present and past accompanied by rousing music and talking eagles! And what an ingenious idea to use the inscribed stones of the wall to provide the characters and situations in this play.’

You can view their play below.