'Ovid in the West Midlands' is a joint venture between the Department of Classics, Ancient History, and Archaeology and the education charity Classics for All, which aims to get Key Stage 3 students excited about storytelling via the mythology of the ancient world. Key Stage 3 pupils from across the region take part in the competition. The premise of Ovid in the West Midlands is simple: pupils listen to and discuss recordings of adapted stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses in the classroom, before going on to respond creatively to a myth of their choice.
In this second year of the competition we again had a wonderful response from schools in Birmingham and the Midlands. We asked for 'creative' and the pupils most certainly delivered. The judges had a tough time on their hands to pick some winners!
It has been thrilling to see once again this year the beautifully creative pieces pupils from our city and region have come up with, inspired by one of antiquity's greatest poets. Ovid's Metamorphoses has inspired artists and writers since Titian and Shakespeare, and our own young people are breathing new life into this epic with their work. It's such a pleasure to work with Classics for All who support our amazing Schools Network.
Dr Elena Theodorakopoulos - Senior Lecturer in Classics.
Winners, their teachers, and parents were invited to a prize-giving at The Exchange, with the historical novelist Lindsey Davis handing over the awards. The acclaimed story-teller Daniel Morden was there to entertain, enchant and remind the audience of the excitement to be found in Ovid’s epic Metamorphoses, and Dr Elena Theodorakopoulos from the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology gave a brief talk about the significance of Ovid’s mythic world for today’s readers.
