Classics Tutoring

Why Classics?

The benefits to studying a Classical language, especially from a young age, prove to be truly endless. Whether you choose Latin or Classical Greek, both balance disciplines and skills uniquely able to place you above your peers in terms of eloquence and academic standing. Classical languages combine the translation skills of studying a foreign language, the grammatical and rhetorical excellence needed to succeed in English, and the cultural stimulation of Ancient History. For students with a keen interest in any of those areas, or who demonstrate remarkable academic capabilities in younger years, Latin or Greek is a very favourable subject choice.

These subjects also bring the benefits of high scaling later in the HSC, and a vastly transferable skillset. In terms of the IB course, Latin at Standard or Higher Level is also a strategic choice, as there is no speaking component which is mandatory under the modern languages.

Classics Private Tutoring

Private Classics tutoring allows our students to engage one-on-one with a tutor who has themselves achieved incredible results and has an unmatched understanding of their subject. You gain the invaluable benefits of guided analysis and study with an expert, as they bring the necessary insight into the historical and literary context of texts, whilst often extending your knowledge and abilities far beyond classroom standard. This allows you to conquer any assessment throughout the year.

Further, from first-hand experience, tutors are able to recommend effective study techniques to solidify your knowledge of key texts and memorise grammar conventions. We also offer differentiated pathways for HSC and IB students to enable each to excel within the specific requirements of their course.

Working with a Classics tutor from earlier on helps develop a solid foundation in the subject, allowing you to achieve far beyond the capabilities of a typical Latin or Greek student in later high school years. You develop enhanced perceptive skills when analysing texts, an increased knowledge of the ancient world, and an appreciation for English grammar conventions.

Our Personalised Approach

Our Classics tutoring is not ‘one size fits all’ – rather, our end-to-end, tailored approach allows us to focus on specific areas of academic enrichment for each individual student. We develop a foundational understanding early on, then work towards ultimate success in Latin or Classical Greek through refining higher-order skills.

1. Year 11-12 Classics (HSC) - Our programs for Year 11 and 12 HSC students centres around refining unseen translation techniques, heightening the level of textual analysis produced and developing a comprehensive understanding of contextual periods.
2. Year 11-12 Classics (IB) - We offer outstanding support in planning and drafting internal assessments, as well as advanced grammatical and literary analysis of set texts. Students also gain confidence in scansion and completing unseen translations.
3. Year 5-10 Classics - We establish an early focus on Classical languages for students in Primary school looking to enrich their academic capabilities and heighten their English skills. For students in Years 7-10 who study either Latin or Classical Greek, we teach and solidify the foundational concepts to an exceptional standard.

Year 11-12 HSC and IB Classics

Our well-planned approach is specifically designed to support each individual HSC or IB student studying Latin or Classical Greek at any level. Recognising that, for example, it’s critical to master foundational skills – basic grammar constructions, verb endings, noun declensions and conjugations – before being able to translate complex and stylistic unseen texts, Premier Tutors aims to bring your abilities to an exceptional standard. We provide holistic assistance, tailoring lesson structures to fit your areas of concern:

1. Set Texts - We offer advanced grammatical and literary analysis of set texts, providing valuable contextual knowledge, nuanced perspectives and extension techniques. We aim to engage students in high-quality discussions on each text, considering both authorial purpose and context, to deepen their holistic understanding.
2. Unseen Texts - By providing practice unseen texts of varying difficulties detailed feedback, Premier Tutors allows students to reinforce a particularly challenging syllabus focus and piece together a top-mark unseen response. Our tutors help you develop the most effective exam strategies to transform a daunting unseen into a sophisticated and fluid translation.
3. Commentary Responses - Our tutors understand the specific requirements of a commentary responses, both the short questions and longer ‘essays’, and are able to refine your writing skills to reflect a full-mark response. This includes the style, the balance of techniques to analysis, structure of an essay, and length of your response to fit the mark allocation.
4. Extension Course - Receive targeted assistance with English to Latin/Classical Greek translation, critical readings on Livy and Tacitus (Latin) and Homer (Greek), contextual support with historiography and stylistic notes. Our specialist tutors bring you to the ultimate state of preparation, allowing you to engage conceptually and textually with the period.

Years 5-10 Classics

Premier Tutors has exclusively created two distinct approaches towards Classics tuition for younger students. Our distinguished tutors have seamlessly integrated elements of Latin and Classical Greek into English extension work for Year 5 and 6 students, in order to give them a headstart and pique their interest. Alternatively, for our students in Years 7-10 who have already elected to study these subjects, we offer the best support available to establish a solid foundation for future success.

1. Year 5-6 - Premier Tutors is uniquely able to introduce bright students to Classical studies much earlier than at school, and as such, provide incredible benefits from a young age. For primary school students, engaging with Latin or Classical Greek enhances their vocabulary and understanding of word origins, which ultimately encourages them to become better writers. Our tutors also help students develop fundamental grammar skills, as they accurately apply the active/passive voice, and subjunctive mood. We also ground an early interest in ancient history and mythology, to encourage wider reading of both fictional and critical texts.
2. Years 7-10 - Undoubtedly, the most crucial stage in studying Classical languages is setting a strong foundation. Not only does this produce great results during Years 7-10, but it also minimises the time spent re-learning basic concepts during the HSC year, and therefore provides more opportunities for refinement and revision. We offer you truly unparalleled expertise so that you are able to identify grammatical constructions with speed and accuracy, build a strong repertoire of techniques and translate passages effectively using a dictionary. More importantly, we provide extensive support where you require it most, so that you are in the best position academically to succeed.