Access Classics is an outreach initiative by the School of Classics at University College Dublin (UCD) to widen participation in, and encourage engagement with, Classics, a field that explores ancient Greek and Roman civilisations, their interactions with other cultures, and their continued impact on our world.

Access Classics seeks to:

1. Support teachers and students at secondary schools and centres for continuing education to study Classics.
2. Work with schools that currently do not, or cannot, offer Classics as part of their official curriculum in order to provide opportunities to learn about the ancient world;
3. Provide support for second-level teachers of Classics through the creation of teaching resources, opportunities for continuing professional development, and individualised support for your students and learning outcomes;
4. Encourage and facilitate the uptake of Greek and Roman Civilisation, Greek, and Latin at university.

In March 2019, we began our visits to second-level schools, tailoring lessons to the needs of the students and/or teachers. We conducted handling sessions with some of the objects from the UCD Classical Museum, ran workshops on the Greek language and conducted small, interactive classes on a number of topics, including Alexander the Great, the Oedipus myth, Homeric heroes and the layout of the Greek theatre. We also welcomed schools to the UCD Classical Museum and Dr Alexander Thein gave a community lecture on Augustus (thank you to Naas Community College for their invitation and kind welcome!).