Shrewsbury Colleges Group’s Classical Civilisations teacher Sian Squire took the students from her classes to Shrewsbury High School to see a guest lecture by author and classicist, Natalie Haynes.
Natalie was talking about her latest book published in Sept 2022, Stone Blind, which is about Medusa. This book is the latest one from Natalie which retells ancient myths.
As part of this event, Sian welcomed back two former students as part of the day to celebrate classical civilisations. Natasha Hershaw and Annie Davies both studied Classic Civilisations in the late 2000s.
Natasha, who studied Classical Civilisations along with Maths, French, and History at the college between 2007 and 2009, and then went on to study Classics at the University of St Andrews, is now a renowned designer of Classics-inspired jewellery. Some of Natasha’s work is on sale in museums across the world from Dundee to Melbourne. You can see more on her website www.platosfire.co.uk
Also attending the day was Annie Davies, another former student of the college, who studied Classics between 2006 and 2008 along with Graphic Design. Annie is a locally based baker who specialises in creating bespoke cakes for special occasions and events. Annie shot to fame in classic circles on Instagram during Lockdown with her 3D Medusa-inspired cake which took her three days in total to create. For the event with the college, Annie produced a much more straightforward version of her Medusa cake for the staff and students to enjoy!
Sian said after the event: ‘Today was a wonderful opportunity for our students to attend an insightful and interesting talk from one of the most innovative authors in this field. Natalie has written several compelling novels which take ancient myths but retold from very different perspectives. Plus, the students had the chance to speak with some former students who have pursued very different careers, but who are still applying their knowledge of the Classics to their work. Who knew that Classics could be combined with cake making and jewellery making – even I didn’t see that coming!’