LATIN is being dragged out of ancient history and into classrooms as part of a federal push for the return of the classical language.

At least one private school, Brisbane Girls Grammar, will make the study of Latin compulsory for Year 7 students next year as the Federal Government pumps up to $1.8 million into five new languages.

The extinct language - rarely used outside of the Vatican and in legal documents - will be elevated to the national curriculum on par with languages such as Mandarin and Indonesian.

The decision bemused education groups who yesterday said it was ‘patently absurd” to promote Latin ahead of modern languages.

Under the Australian curriculum, schools can offer 11 languages, such as Spanish, Arabic and Italian, which are spoken by billions of people around the world.

Approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population - or about 950 million people - speak Mandarin, while Spanish is spoken by about 400 million.

The number of fluent Latin speakers is thought to number only in the thousands worldwide.

From July 1, the Abbott Government will fund the expansion of the curriculum to include classical Latin and classical Greek. Hindi, Turkish and Auslan (Australian Sign Language) will also be added to the curriculum.

A spokesman for Education Minister Christopher Pyne said the Minister supported the teaching of ‘historically significant” languages.

‘The Government is working towards 40 per cent of Year 12 students studying a second language in a decade, the more language options available for schools, the more likely students will be attracted to language study,” the spokesman said.

He said it was up to schools and state governments to determine which languages were taught. Classical Latin was spoken by the ancient Romans and extracts of the Latin language are used in legal circles and the Roman Catholic Church.

Modern Language Teachers’ Association of Queensland president Cynthia Dodd said she preferred it if her children first learn a living language.

P&Cs Qld chief executive Kevan Goodworth said it would be ‘patently absurd” to teach Latin rather than a language like Mandarin.

But Latin advocates say it is linked to higher academic performance in English, maths and science and has a ‘wonder” element for students . The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority recommended the inclusion of Classical Latin and Greek to the curriculum in 2011, and it has been discussed at a federal and state level.

This move was funded by the Abbott Government in the Budget, with $1.2 million to be provided in 2014-15 and $600,000 in 2015-16 .

BGGS Dean of Curriculum and Scholarship Bruce Addison said Latin provided a deeper understanding of English grammar and was a great foundation for other subjects.

‘Part of the strategy is so we can reinvigorate links with the past and links to the social sciences as well, because we have lived through an era whereby a lot of kids are moving away from that,” Dr Addison said.

Year 11 student Josephine Auer said the language had been incredibly useful, including in her biology and German subjects.