Sharing ancient education

The Reading Ancient Schoolroom (www.readingancientschoolroom.com) is a fully immersive re-enactment of a Roman school. Combining the latest archaeological discoveries with research (much of it conducted at Reading) into the activities ancient children did at school and what kind of behaviour was expected of them in school settings, it has created the world's only comprehensive reconstruction of an ancient school.

Participants not only learn how to use wax tablets, ostraca and other replica ancient writing materials while dressed like Romans in a room imitating the schools of fourth-century Roman Egypt, but they do the same kinds of exercises that ancient children did and learn how to behave like Roman pupils. Contrary to popular belief, children were rarely beaten in Roman schools, and ancient education was much more individualised and in some key ways kinder than its modern equivalent.

Moreover some of the ancient school exercises seem to be significantly easier to grasp, more enjoyable and in some cases more helpful for certain children than many modern school exercises. Therefore most participants in the ancient schoolroom have a wonderful time as well as learning a great deal.

The ancient schoolroom was started in 2014 by the Classics department at the University of Reading as a creative way to bring research on ancient education to the wider public. Since then it has been an annual event staffed by enthusiastic volunteers from the department and further afield (some have even come from abroad for the purpose), catering to local children and their teachers/parents.

Both volunteers and participants love the schoolroom, which clearly ought to expand but cannot do so in its current form owing to competing demands on its Reading home.

This project will therefore enable the ancient schoolroom to transition from an occasional activity of the university to an independent, financially self-sustaining enterprise that can travel to schools and give them the experience of antiquity on their own sites. Feedback has made it clear that schools want this and are willing to pay enough for it to make financial self-sufficiency a realistic goal: for local schools it offers a more convenient option than travelling to campus, and for ones further afield it offers their only option for experiencing the ancient schoolroom.

Historical sites are also interested, with Butser Ancient Farm having already asked us to come teach for a week in their Roman villa. So if we can redevelop the enterprise successfully, prospects are bright.

Additionally, we aim to develop the ancient exercises' great potential to assist children with special educational needs. A schoolteacher with experience of such children will guide the schoolroom's adaptation to (among other things) maximise the benefit to children with special needs, and we will make a particular effort to visit schools with substantial numbers of such children.

Since the ancient schoolroom is also a good Widening Participation activity, we will also make efforts to visit schools in that category (without payment).