Lorna Robinson is helping revive a dead language, writes ROSALIND MILES

A 'dead' language is being brought back to life at schools in Oxford, thanks to a travelling enthusiast of Latin and Greek - and with help from Harry Potter, too.

Dr Lorna Robinson, 27, was working at a private school when she decided to do something about the fact that state school students were missing out on the Classics.

Dr Robinson, of Franklin Road in Oxford, said: "I was working in this very posh independent school and I just thought, I am surrounded by privilege, why don't I try to take Classics to state schools as well?

"Our culture, history and literature are imbued with references to Roman and Greek civilizations - courses in these subjects should be at the disposal of every state school student."

Dr Robinson has started the Iris Project, to work with schools in the county doing workshops and courses in Classics, talks and themed days.

She said that learning Latin served as a foundation for learning other modern languages, and was in talks to bring Classic workshops to other schools in the area.

At Cheney School, Latin teacher Julian Armistead said the language was coming back into fashion, and about 70 students were now taking the language, with the first lesson at AS-level having started this week.

He said: "Latin is something different, kids will know there is Latin in Harry Potter and that has brought the subject into focus.

"We are one of very few Oxford state schools who offer Latin, and there has been a real resurgence and enthusiasm in Latin recently."

Dr Robinson's project includes Iris magazine, which aims to make Classics more accessible, free to all state sector schools.

She said: "A lot of people I told said they thought no-one would be interested, but I have been surprised by the good response I have had from schools so far, it's really exciting."

Boris Johnson MP will coming to talk at Cheney School, on December 8, about Classics and the project.

The MP is one of the main supporters of the project and has offered his help to get Classics to reach a wider audience.

The Iris magazine is launched on September 18. For more information, contact the Iris project at editor@irismagazine.org or see www.irismagazine.org Latin fact file No known language, including English, has achieved the success and longevity of Latin. French, Spanish, Italian and Romanian are among its direct descendants, and countless Latin words and phrases comprise the cornerstone of English itself.

Latin language has existed for 2,500 years and there still exist vast numbers of documents written in Latin on papyrus, vellum (animal skin) and paper.

Some of the literary works produced during the Classical period, about 2,000 years ago, when such famous authors as Cicero, Horace, Virgil and Ovid were writing, have survived.

We have a large amount written by the Church Fathers, such as Augustine and Jerome, during the period 250-600, as well as a huge range of writings from the Middle Ages down to about 1600 - histories, hymns, legal and administrative documents, letters, literary works of poetry and prose, philosophical and scientific works.

Over this period, written Latin remained quite conservative, though it did admit new words (e.g. monachus for monk) and new meanings (oratio for prayer) so as to take account of changes in society.

Meanwhile, spoken Latin gradually developed into the Romance languages of Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and other dialects, while English was heavily influenced by Latin directly and through French. Eventually, these languages took over from Latin in Europe, though Latin is still used in certain places and contexts, such as in the Vatican.