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<\/a><\/a>Prof James Robson comments, \u2018It\u2019s such an honour to receive this award \u2013especially for the Open University to be its first-ever recipient \u2013 and I\u2019m delighted that the team\u2019s efforts and creativity have been recognized in this way. As someone who had no exposure to ancient Greece and Rome at school and who only got hooked later in life, I\u2019m particularly conscious of the importance of creating meaningful opportunities for people to explore their interests in the ancient world. One of the ways we\u2019ve done this at the Open University is by producing free online courses which allow learners with no prior knowledge to get a taste of topics that appeal to them.\u00a0 I\u2019m especially proud of our HeadStart Classical Studies series of short courses: these were written with 16-18-year-olds in mind, but they\u2019ve ended up attracting learners of all ages. An astonishing 200,000 individuals have visited the HeadStart webpages since they were launched in November 2023.\u00a0 That\u2019s an amazing reach and it just goes to show how attractive topics like Homer, Greek religion and the Emperor Augustus can be when they\u2019re given a contemporary twist and presented in an engaging way.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\nHe continues, \u2018A particular interest of mine is providing access to the study of Latin and Greek, since these languages are taught in only a tiny minority of UK schools.\u00a0 Incredibly, our free\u00a0Getting Started in Classical Latin<\/em>\u00a0course has had over a million visits since its launch in 2015, and\u00a0Getting Started in Ancient Greek<\/em>\u00a0has been similarly successful, clocking up nearly 500,000 visits since 2021.\u00a0 The story isn\u2019t just about these large numbers, though, it\u2019s also about individuals being able to satisfy their intellectual curiosity and become part of the Classical Studies community.\u00a0 \u00a0The combination of academics\u2019 subject expertise and the tech know-how of our media developers has resulted in an amazing set of interactive learning resources.\u00a0 I\u2019m so proud to be working for a university that supports these initiatives and where ambitious ideas like ours can become reality.\u2019<\/p>\n In addition to online courses, since 2017 the Department of Classical Studies \u2013 with the financial support of the A. G. Leventis Foundation \u2013 has provided 20 fully-funded MA studentships to state-school teachers, and a further eight internally-funded EDI studentships for teachers to study OU undergraduate modules.<\/p>\n Dr Emma Bridges emphasises the importance of these in supporting teachers to develop their subject knowledge in order to enhance the provision of classical subjects in non-fee-paying schools. She notes, \u2018Historically it has been difficult, if not impossible, for pupils in schools in the state sector to study the history, culture and languages of the ancient world. The Open University Classical Studies team sees it as part of our mission to do what we can to change that. Often schoolteachers who are delivering these subjects are primarily specialists in a different academic discipline, so it\u2019s really empowering for them to gain a Classical Studies qualification. Teachers in receipt of our bursaries have told us how transformative the Open University study experience has been, not only in terms of deepening their knowledge but also in enabling them to advocate more confidently for the value of access to Classical Studies.\u2019<\/p>\n Dr. Bridges adds, \u2018As with many things at the Open University, the outreach work we do looks quite different from that in other universities. One of our unique strengths is the ability to connect with learners wherever and whoever they are, and it\u2019s wonderful that Classics for All has recognised the efforts we make to maximise the reach and appeal of our distance learning model. We love nothing more than hearing that someone with no previous experience of Classical Studies has found one of our resources and has become as enthused as we are for the subject matter!\u2019<\/p>\n HeadStart Classical Studies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nOpenLearn resources<\/h2>\n