The principal of an Oxfordshire independent school has spoken out in support of Latin instruction as the subject continues to diminish nationwide.

St Edward’s School, located on Woodstock Road and commonly referred to as Teddies, has seen its warden describe the reduction in Latin education across Britain as moving backwards.

Alastair Chirnside, who instructs both Latin and Greek at the secondary boarding establishment for students from age 13, considers himself a strong advocate for the language.

According to him, it provides coverage across numerous academic fields, including language study, literary analysis and philosophical inquiry.

The school emphasises the subject considerably, with every Year 9 student engaging with it to some extent.

Despite this institutional commitment, Latin instruction has fallen dramatically over recent decades. Research conducted by the British Society in 2020 revealed that only three percent of state schools provide it for pupils aged 11 to 14, while less than half of independent institutions offer the subject.

The preceding Conservative administration attempted to reverse this trend through the Latin Excellence Programme, introduced in 2021, though the incoming Labour government terminated the scheme, which had been allocated four million pounds.

Mr Chirnside acknowledged that Latin represents a niche discipline and expressed concern about the situation, noting that the decline is concerning and that student numbers are under strain.

He explained that institutions seeking cost reductions typically examine subjects like classics and modern languages as potential areas for budget cuts, but doing so actually deprives students of their choice and eliminates important accumulation in language fundamentals and cultural knowledge.