{"id":1942,"date":"2026-09-22T13:54:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T13:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/?p=1942"},"modified":"2026-09-22T13:54:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T13:54:36","slug":"taking-part-in-the-the-british-school-at-athens-undergraduate-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/?p=1942","title":{"rendered":"Taking part in the the British School at Athens undergraduate course"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this report, OU Classical Studies student Ryan tells us all about his recent experience on the prestigious course run by the British School at Athens.<\/em><\/p>\n

This summer, I was accepted onto the British School at Athens Undergraduate Course, studying the archaeology and topography of Greece. I spent three weeks travelling around mainland Greece and the Peloponnese with like-minded students who shared my passion for the subject.<\/p>\n

At the Open University, I was introduced to Classical Studies, the study of the ancient world. Before my second year, I never even knew a subject such as this existed, if only in the world of Donna Tartt. Having always had a deep love for the ancient Greek and Roman world, I was drawn towards Classical Studies, rather than studying History. Choosing it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Sometimes, not knowing is the best way we find what we have been looking for.<\/p>\n

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Ryan and the serpent column at Delphi<\/p><\/div>\n

For my final year, my tutor was Julia Tomas. She went beyond my preconceptions of what a tutor could be. In her, I found a real passion for the subject. I was no longer simply learning; rather, we were all sharing this story, this world, together. I can firmly say that I had never experienced such engaging teaching before, where opinions were shared freely and ideas were welcomed. It was Julia who encouraged me to apply for the summer school.<\/p>\n

This in itself was rather daunting. I had never travelled by myself, let <\/span>alone had the confidence to apply for such a prestigious and highly <\/span>competitive course. But, truth be told, I got in! I managed to secure a <\/span>place among twenty-seven other students. I was later told that no one <\/span>from the Open University had ever attended a course like this before.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had never experienced university teaching in this way. I had studied <\/span>extensively through books, articles and online materials, but suddenly <\/span>found myself standing at the very sites I had previously only <\/span>encountered through photographs and academic texts. Even more <\/span>importantly, I was able to discuss them in depth with tutors while <\/span>standing within the landscapes and monuments we were studying. I <\/span>became something of a sponge, absorbing as much of the knowledge, <\/span>insight and enthusiasm of our tutors as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first week, we visited the Acropolis, seeing the Parthenon in all <\/span>its grandeur. Seeing it on a screen or in a book had never done it <\/span>justice. The scale of it completely blew me away. It reminded me of <\/span>where I was, but most importantly, why it meant so much to me to <\/span>finally see it. Because I was part of the BSA, we had special access to <\/span>areas that regular tourists could not enter, including inside the <\/span>Parthenon itself. It was something I never thought I would experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Temple of Poseidon, Sounion<\/p><\/div>\n

Having studied Delphi in my second year, I was already excited to visit, particularly because of my interest in Greek theatre and ancient religious and cult practices. However, nothing quite prepared me for actually walking along the Sacred Way, passing the treasuries and eventually reaching the sanctuary where the Pythia delivered her prophecies. Experiencing the landscape in person gave me a completely different understanding of the site and its importance.<\/p>\n

Perhaps unexpectedly, one of the major highlights of the course was discovering Bronze Age Greece and the Mycenaeans, an area I previously knew very little about. Our lectures on burial practices and Tholos tombs sparked a fascination that grew when we visited Mycenae and Tiryns. We discussed Heinrich Schliemann and how preconceived ideas can influence archaeological interpretation, which encouraged me to develop ideas of my own. At Mycenae, I suggested to Rachel, one of our tutors, that the form of Mycenaean Tholos tombs could perhaps be connected to the shape of boar-tusk helmets. She described the idea as inspired and one of the best interpretations she had heard on the subject. It was an incredibly encouraging moment and gave me much greater confidence in my ability to develop and communicate archaeological ideas.<\/p>\n

The site that fuelled my personal interests most was Mystras. An old Byzantine settlement and once the home of Constantine XI, it was particularly exciting for me. Outside of my studies, I have a deep interest in Byzantine history, and visiting Mystras made me eager to explore the subject even further.<\/p>\n

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The theatre at Epidauros<\/p><\/div>\n

Before this course, I never imagined I would have the opportunity to experience Greece in this way, nor that three weeks of visiting archaeological sites and discussing ideas with tutors would leave me wanting to pursue a PhD. I do not yet know what my research would focus on, but the experience has given me the confidence and desire to continue studying and, hopefully, one day undertake a PhD of my own.<\/p>\n

This course has taught me to value opportunity. I had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people, some of whom I can now call friends, and tutors whom I hope to keep in contact with. I am incredibly grateful to the Hellenic Society for their generosity, which helped make this trip possible, and to the British School at Athens for choosing me to take part. And, of course, I would like to thank the Open University and more importantly my tutor, Julia Tomas, for their knowledge, encouragement and continued support throughout my studies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Votive offerings in the Archaeological Museum at Olympia<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this report, OU Classical Studies student Ryan tells us all about his recent experience on the prestigious course run by the British School at Athens. This summer, I was accepted onto the British School at Athens Undergraduate Course, studying the archaeology and topography of Greece. I spent three weeks travelling around mainland Greece and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1948,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942\/revisions\/1948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/classicalstudies\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}