The Jamie Rumble Memorial Fund Trips
Here in London, our students have unparalleled access to Greek and Roman antiquities – via the British Museum, City of London Museum, and Victoria and Albert Museum (among other places). But studying Archaic sculpture in Athens – or for that matter Roman wall-painting in Pompeii, as indeed Bronze Age archaeology in Cyprus – can give a very different perspective.
That’s why, thanks to the generous donation of a former student in 2013, the King's Department of Classics set up the Rumble Fund: each year, the fund pays for around 25 BA and/or MA students to visit Classical lands; most importantly, the costs of these field trips (which are carefully integrated within our department-taught modules) are fully covered by the department.
The Rumble Fund offers something unparalleled within other British university Classics departments. Our field trips are organized by departmental lecturers in conjunction with a specific module each year: students are accompanied by their module lecturer and at least one other member of the department throughout the trip. Working together with our research partners (including the British School at Athens and British School at Rome), the department acquires special permits to guide participants around sites that are normally closed to the public (inside the Parthenon, for example); students are also led around the latest excavations – sometimes by those who have recently excavated them.
"The Rumble trip was an incredible opportunity: the experience, the lessons, the laughter and the company were incomparable with anything else I experienced at university." - Recent Rumble Trip participant
[Photo taken from the 2018/19 Rumble Fund Trip to Athens; Image painted by Robyn van Blankenstein, a former Rumble Fund Trip student.]
The King's Greek Play
One of the highlights of the Classics calendar at King’s, the annual Greek Play is directed, designed, choreographed, produced, and performed by current King's College London students every February.
For more information on the Greek Play and how you might get involved, please click here.
"The Greek Play was an extremely valuable and rewarding learning experience for me. It showed my strengths and weaknesses as a leader and allowed me to bring a creative project through to completion. The Play also provided a wonderful opportunity to understand the original ancient texts in greater detail." - Holly Smith, BA Classical Archaeology 2016-2019
This year's Greek Play will be a performance of Sophocles' Antigone, taking place at the Greenwood Theatre (13-15 February, 2019). To secure tickets for what is sure to be a unique and fantastic production, please visit the dedicated Greek Play Facebook page.
Iris Project
The Classics Department works with the Iris Project to deliver the Inner London Latin Project, part of their Literacy Through Latin initiative. Every year, 5-10 student teachers are paired with a state primary schools in the capital with low literacy levels or a high percentage of children on free school meals.
Student teachers introduce pupils from Years 5 and 6 to the Latin language, making learning fun, relevant and accessible by using activities and games. They also offer a taste of classical culture via storytelling and drama. Teaching in local schools is a rewarding and enriching experience, and can make a profound difference to the lives of young children growing up in deprived urban areas. It gives students the chance to engage with local communities and to gain valuable training from King’s School of Education, Communication & Society and practical experience of teaching.
If you are interested in taking part, please contact Dr Will Wootton, Project Co-Ordinator, King's Classics Department or Lorna Robinson, Director of the Iris Project.
The KCL Classics Society
Run by elected representatives from the student body, the Classics Society thrives on involvement from societal members.
Our society's goal is to provide a social platform for students of any discipline, with an environment traced around the Classical world. It is an unrivalled society for friendliness and opportunities to meet new people, with an unmatched variety of events through which to do so: we host quiz nights, film showings, trips to the museum (including the annual British Museum Treasure Hunt), classically-themed parties, formal dinners, lectures, and theatre visits - amongst a swarm of other events. In our previous year, we welcomed students from over a dozen disciplines, and played host to as many as 150 students at our larger events. We cannot stress how welcoming we are, and how delighted we are to meet new people who share in our enjoyment of social and cultural events with a Classical backdrop!
The Classics Society Committee, 2018-19
How can I join?
Membership costs £10, and can either be paid online or at to the KCL Student Union on Surrey Street. Any member of the committee will be more than happy to show you where this is.
Contact
2018/9 officers
- President: Holly Smith
- Treasurer/Vice President: Eleanor Szarka
- Social Sec: Sophie Norgate & Caolain Cleary
- Cultural Sec: Catie Owen
- General Sec: Ciara Meehan
- Travel Sec: Mahesh Parkar
Also invited to Classics Society meetings:
- Editor in Chief of Satyrica: Rochelle Blakeman
- Director of Greek Play: Helena Ramsay
- Kerberos Editors in Chief: Bryony Callaghan & Giulia Vidoni