FABRICIO FERREIRA, a 17-year-old from Brockley, in south-east London, is not a typical student of the ancient world. But his enthusiasm is infectious. “The Greeks were so messed up,” he opines, grinning beneath his thick glasses and afro. “I love Odysseus, because he’s so dodgy. He lies all of the time, he cheats, but he’s still the hero—like Batman.”Mr Ferreira is a student at Brooke House Sixth Form College (known as BSix) in Hackney, a school where 65% of students are on some sort of government financial support. He spoke to your correspondent while attending a week-long summer school hosted by Wadham College, Oxford, but arranged by BSix as part of its East End Classics Centre programme. There, he and 17 other A-level classics students spent four full days—9am to 6pm—learning about ancient societies and practising their Greek. The students then wrote a 1,500-word essay and attended a one-to-one tutorial with an Oxford academic.Giving inner-city students a taste of Oxford education helps them to think independently, says Ed Durbin, BSix’s “raising aspirations co-ordinator”. But it also helps Oxford University, which is under pressure to increase the proportion of students it takes from state schools. Overall, around 56% of Oxford’s students come from state schools. But in classics the figure is just 25%. Improving this ratio is difficult. Success rates are similar for...
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