(L-R Andrew Grant, Peter Williamson, Liz Bickerstaffe, Katrina Kelly, Jayne Kelly, Michael Kettle)

President: Dr Michael Scott 

Michael is an Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, author of several books on ancient Greek and Roman society, and has written and presented a range of documentaries for National Geographic, History Channel, ITV and the BBC. He’s currently filming in Italy with Alexander Armstrong for a forthcoming BBC documentary, following the success of Invisible Rome, and his latest book Ancient Worlds is now available. We’re very proud to have such a dynamic ambassador for classics as our President, and his scholarship, approachability and sense of humour encourages people of all ages and backgrounds alike to get involved with Classics.

At 17, Katrina became the youngest person ever to establish a branch of the Classical Association.  She was home-educated and also studied A-Levels at AKS Sixth Form. Katrina was the youngest member of Fylde DFAS and was involved in both the Tagging the Treasures and Church Recording projects. Now 19, she is in her second year reading Classics at Magdalen College, Oxford where she networks shamelessly to persuade visiting lecturers to come to the Association and once a month gets the train home to chair meetings and help run the lecture events! Her particular interests lie in Roman urban and agricultural history, and Greek art and tragedy. Katrina is also a keen athlete and a competitive gymnast for her university.

Secretary: Jayne Kelly

Jayne gained a degree in Modern History and post-graduate qualifications, and then ran her own business before becoming Governor of Inveraray Jail, one of Scotland’s leading visitor attractions. Jayne has had a varied career spanning countryside management, heritage tourism, marketing, criminology, mental health and lecturing and is the author and designer of several guides and publications. She now combines working for the NHS with writing, walking, poetry and her work for the Association. Jayne really enjoys the historical aspect of the lectures and is particularly interested in outreach work – trying to make classics accessible to people of all ages.

Treasurer: Michael Kettle

Michael studied Law and then Maths, and has enjoyed teaching Maths for over twenty five years. He has also had a variety of other interesting jobs ranging from looking after Lady Penelope’s car and being a film extra to supervising young apprentices in whisky distilleries and being a fish farm nightwatchman in Argyll and the Isles. He enjoys philosophy, walking, listening to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams and following the mixed fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur. He also enjoys transporting and chatting to the lecturers when they come to the area and he has recently revived his interest in Latin by participating in the Association’s Latin Reading Group.

Events Officer: Liz Bickerstaffe

Promotions’ Officer: Peter Williamson

Pete was born during the WW2 Manchester blitz and survived to become a Manchester City supporter – the first 25 years of which were quite challenging! As a 10 year old, he visited the Manchester Museum and quickly became obsessed with the culture of ancient Egypt after being mesmerised by an unwrapped mummy. Returning many times, he became an enthusiastic amateur in ancient history and archaeology; was later involved with the Printing Museum in Cockermouth; and now maintains a keen interest in ancient people during his retirement. An indentured apprentice compositer at the age of 16, he has worked for many newspapers, including the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Mirror, and the News of the World.

Minutes’ Secretary: Andrew Grant

Andrew’s secondary school encouraged a deep admiration for the culture of the ancient world – the first year forms were even named Athens, Rome, Sparta and Troy! Andrew obtained an O level in Latin and later studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Trinity College, Oxford, including Aristotelian logic which helped him to a scholarship, before spending most of his working life in the Civil Service. His interests include music, theatre and cinema. Andrew came to his first Classical Association meeting on 29th September 2016, by happy chance his birthday, and joined the committee as Minutes Secretary in 2017.