High Storrs School: Episodes from Jason and the Argonauts, by storyteller Lucy Lill

Lucy arrived in plenty of time for us to make a prompt start. She was introduced by Gina Johnson, the Head of Classics, who thanked the National Classical Association for their generous funding of the event.

Lucy told various episodes from the Jason cycle of stories to our entire Y8 cohort of 240 students, plus a few Y9s and Y12s, for almost an hour, holding her audience spellbound throughout with her skill and energy. It was wonderful to see the oral tradition still alive and kicking! There was time for a few questions at the end and there were many hands up, mostly wanting to know what happened next – a sure sign that the students were fully engaged in the process. Applause was loud and long.

One of the main reasons we were delighted to have Lucy in school at this particular point in the academic year is that our Y8s are about to embark on the Options Process where they make their GCSE choices. We have no curriculum time in Y8 so we are always keen to find ways of connecting with these students outside normal lesson time in the hope of increasing GCSE numbers for both Classical Civilisation and Latin.

It will be another couple of months before we can see whether Lucy’s visit has indeed boosted our numbers of recruits but a few more students attended Y8 Classics Club the following day and a couple of students came to ask about Classical Civilisation GCSE so, perhaps, the signs are positive. The event certainly served to remind the Y8s that there is a Classics Department at High Storrs and they all thoroughly enjoyed it.