University Academic Joins Association to Broaden Classics Education.
Dr John Holton begins a four-year term as Trustee, member of the governing Council, and Co-Chair of the Teaching Board for The Classical Association.
14 October 2024
Dr John Holton is currently the Director of Education for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. His role with The Classical Association UK will see him help develop numerous projects, including supporting GCSE and A-level curriculum reform for classical and ancient subjects, coordinating a national CPD offer for teachers, and establishing further national and international partnerships for the organisation.
The Classical Association is a longstanding educational charity that promotes classical learning in schools and to wider audiences.
John, whose research centres around Hellenistic history, has been involved in public outreach for several years and has already influenced university teaching in the field through co-writing the most recent Subject Benchmark Statement for the QAA. He also feels a personal connection to this type of outreach, as someone who grew up without access to these subjects at school.
He comments: "I feel very privileged to be able to use my skills and experience to influence in a national educational context; I'm delighted to be working to help shape a sustainable future for classics education in the UK and embed the importance of the discipline – which is a truly interdisciplinary Humanities field – in wider society."
Dr Holton also added: "it is great for Newcastle to have a voice at the table in the national conversation. It enables the Classics and Ancient History unit to feed into national priority-setting and fits in with the excellent wider impact and engagement work already taking place in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology."
It is great for Newcastle to have a voice at the table in the national conversation