Michael Gove: Secretary of State for Education
It is a source of considerable pride to me that the number of students studying Latin in comprehensives is the highest ever. We are presiding over the greatest renaissance in Latin learning since Julius Caesar invaded. [ Interruption. ] Those who are about to answer should be saluted, as we say in Latin. The critical thing is that we have to ensure that our examinations in every subject are up there with the best in the world. It is striking that before he went to university, one of the iconic figures of the 21st century—Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook—studied Latin, Greek and classical Hebrew.
Education Questions: July 2011
Filed under: Publicising Latin |
ARLT Weblog 
As Gove has cut the number of Classics teacher training places from 29 to 23 and left the most popular Latin exams in comprehensives out of the E-Bac, his own contribution to numbers is one of rapid attrition. It’s bad enough that this government is destroying Latin (and Classical Civilisation) in the state sector, it’s a disgrace that they have the temerity to suggest they support the subject.