Sally Lawler would be right to be concerned about the teaching of Latin in primary schools (TES, May 19) if we classicists were trying to propagate tedious, narrow, elitist, irrelevant courses. I wonder if she has seen any of the modern Latin courses in action?
The children I taught in a large comprehensive on a tough Bristol housing estate simply lapped it up. I defy anyone to be unmoved by the drama of Pompeii and Vesuvius; moreover, they learned what a sentence is.
BARBARA BELL
The Joint Association of Classical Teachers 31-34 Gordon Square London WC1
