PUPILS in Arnold are being immersed in the sights and sounds of Ancient Rome as part of a weekly Latin club.

Staff and students at the University of Nottingham's classics department run the club for 17 youngsters between seven and 11 for one hour a week at Arnold Mill Primary School.

The classes teach the pupils about everything from the politics of the Roman Senate to the spectacle of the amphitheatre.

PhD student Cressida Ryan, who has been leading the Latin Club sessions, said: "It's not a subject that you would usually see on a primary school curriculum.

"But the reaction we have had to the club from the kids has been quite incredible, they absolutely adore it.

"When I arrive for the sessions I am greeted in word-perfect Latin — I recently heard about one of our youngsters who has been teaching her family Latin phrases at the breakfast table."

The club started in November.