On Friday 29^th March, the pupils in Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) will have a day of invention and fun in the indoor gymnasium at the Junior School Science Fair. The children submitting an investigation will present their projects to a panel and be judged on their scientific thinking, analysis and conclusions. The winning entries from each year group will win a prize!

On Thursday 3rd May 2018, both Reception classes visited the interesting and educational museum called Planet Physics for an extension to the learning that has been going on in earnest in their science lessons.

Reception pupils are currently engaged in learning about space: our solar system, its planets; the stars and the moon. Our potential atronauts of the future saw a variety of scientific instruments: a plasma ball, a tsunami tank and a free-fall experiment to prove Galileo Galilei’s theory of how fast different objects fall to the ground.

Finally, the children made the most of their trip when they participated in an interactive and well thought-out theatrical activity about planets. A super trip for our little ones! 

On Friday 2nd March, the pupils in Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) will have a day of invention and fun in the indoor gymnasium at the Junior School Science Fair. The children submitting an investigation will present their projects to a panel and be judged on their scientific thinking, analysis and conclusions. The winning entries from each year group will receive a prize!

On Friday 8th December, Year 2 enjoyed a fun-filled day at the XPLORE Entertainment Center in Athens, as part of their science curriculum: Animals & their Habitats. Learning is always so much fun when it’s taken out of the classroom and our pupils thoroughly enjoyed their time in the aquarium, which is home to over 2,000 different kinds of fish. Ask them anything about animals that live under the sea and what they do there, and they’ll have lots to say! They also visited the science section, where they investigated basic scientific ideas through experiential play. It was one of their most memorable days in Year 2 so far!  

The St Lawrence College IGCSE Computer Science revision site. The site is aimed at year 10 and 11 pupils who have opted for Computer Science as an option and can be used to aid classwork, homework and revision.

This week in Computer Science, pupils have been creating their own 'wire buzz' games using the BBC Microbit as a microcontroller. Pupils programmed the game to detect when the metal wire is touched and even store the score of the player. Some even extended this to implement a high score leaderboard. Impressive stuff!

On Monday 20^th March, Year 5 visited the excellent science museum in Athens, Planet Physics. One word to describe our experience there: mind-blowing! Through a period of play, the children really got involved in fascinating scientific enquiry. Afterwards, there were demonstrations which focused more on the most recent topics in science: Magnetism and Sound. The children learnt about sound, how it travels, changes pitch and volume; they explored how magnets and magnetic fields create forces and how to create superconductors using liquid nitrogen. They recreated Galileo's famous gravity experiment of dropping different size spheres off the Tower of Pisa. It was all highly entertaining and as you can tell, the children's scientific curiosities were tantalised! 

During the week of 8th March, St Lawrence College Junior School held a science poster competition in conjunction with British Science Week 2021. The children were tasked with creating a poster that exhibited an innovative device of their own design. The results were quite impressive, leaving us in no doubt as to the scientific potential these young minds are ready to unleash on the world. Although the judges were faced with an abundance of excellent entries, they managed to choose these winners. Congratulations to all who entered!

On Tuesday 27th March, Year 4 wrapped up their 'Sound' topic in science with a trip to Athens' very own science museum - Planet physics. They were shown around by very informative guides who showed and taught them about how sound is produced, transmitted and even seen via sound waves. In addition, pupils had many hands-on experiences where they produced and played with radio frequency waves using a Theremin machine.

Another fun aspect of their experience was listening to the guide's demonstration of how to change their voice. Using helium gas, he squeaked like a chipmunk and with sulfur hexafluoride gas he gave a pretty good imitation of the gravelly-voiced Darth Vader! Most amusing and quite impressive; the children were tickled pink! 

On Friday 2nd March 2018, St Lawrence College held its 2nd Annual Science Fair in the gym. It was a packed, buzzing affair with pupils, parents and teachers revelling in the amazing science experiments on show. 

What impressed the judges most was how well the children were able to explain their investigations and talk about the various elements of their work. Many children exhibited a true understanding of the scientific method and how to conduct a really effective investigation.

Well done to the pupils and of course their families who supported them in the execution of such excellent work. Congratulations not only to the winners but to all pupils who actively participated and made it such a successful occasion. 

On Friday 23rd and Saturday the 24th February our school took part in the Athens Round of the World Scholar’s Cup 2018. This took place at Costeas-Geitonas School in Pallini. There were thirty three participants forming eleven teams from years 7 to 11. There were eight teams in the Junior Division and three teams in the Senior Division.

Every World Scholar's Cup features four exciting events:

• Scholar’s Bowl,
• Collaborative Writing,
• Scholar’s Challenge 
• Team Debate.

These are mostly team efforts and include multiple choice questions and interactive competitions. This year the main theme was “An Entangled World” and was approached through seven different subject areas: Science, History, Literature, Social Sciences, Art and Music and a Special Area which was Human Relationships. St Lawrence College came first in the Debate Rounds in both Junior and Senior Divisions, we achieved second place overall in the Junior Division, while so many of our participants excelled. Everyone had a wonderful and exciting two days!

Many thanks to all the teachers who coached at lunchtime, to Ms Scafidas, Ms Sapountzaki, Ms Lazaris and Ms Galloway for accompanying the pupils and also to Ms. Scafidas and Ms. Armouti for co-ordinating the whole event.

On Friday 31st March the Junior School Science Fair was held and deemed a great success by all. KS2 pupils carried out various scientific investigations showcasing both their talent and knowledge to the rest of the school.

Following the event, St Lawrence participated in the COBIS Science Award 2017 by submitting a short video clip where pupils outlined the major steps needed for a scientific investigation.  The clip won 1st place out of more than 105 entries from 36 COBIS schools from all over the world with more than 730 people involved.

More information can be found here  

We are honoured to have won such a prestigious award.  Well done to the teachers, parents and pupils involved!

The Scientific Method on show at St Lawrence College

During this year’s Junior School Science Fair held on Friday 10th March, pupils in the junior school showcased their science knowledge and skills by carrying out various scientific experiments.This event is captured in a short clip titled ‘A Scientific Method for a Scientific Investigation’ where pupils followed the scientific method to test their hypothesis.

Not only did our budding young scientists of key stage 2 inspire other little scientists in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 but they also inspired senior school scientists as well! They're ready to take on any challenge now, judging by the looks of things!Congratulations to the children who worked so hard and achieved so much with their dynamic investigating skils.

The World Scholar’s Cup was back in Athens this year calling young scholars to explore our ‘Unlikely World’. The 2017 Athens Round took place at Ekpaideftiki Anagennisi School in the Northern Suburbs on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th February. 

Ten teams of our school participated in the WSC, five in the Junior Division and five in the Senior one. Going through various events, such as Debates, Collaborative Writing, multiple choice papers and interactive competitions in Science, History, Literature, Arts and Social Sciences, all our teams qualified for the Global Round. We were happy to see pupils of our school in the top team of the tournament as well as in top places in different events or subjects. 

Many thanks to all the teachers involved, to Ms Kyriakopoulou & Ms Sapountzaki for organising and coaching the school delegation as well as to Ms Lagonikos, Mr. Courts, Ms Brown, Ms Papadatos, Ms Kramer, Ms Andrews, Ms Lazaris, Ms Spiliotis, Ms Douglas & Ms Galloway for preparing lunch time sessions to support the pupils in their preparation.

Higher education for the website

1. Where our children go
2. Getting there – guidance, advice
3. UK Higher education
4. US universities
5. Other destinations
6. Proud of our record, but never complacent

Overview

1. It is the expectation that all children who complete their schooling at St. Lawrence College will progress to higher education
2. About 80% of pupils who graduate from SLC go to UK universities. About 10% go to universities and colleges in the USA. About 10% are “other” either staying in Greece or following higher education at universities in countries as diverse as Canada, Australia, South Africa, Holland, Ireland, South Korea
3. Pupils receive guidance and counselling at every step of the process – in group presentations and meetings and on one-to-one basis.
4. Our university guidance counsellors have immense experience to help pupils arrive at the right choices and gain access to the best higher education institutions for them.

How do pupils enter university and how does the school support them?

1. A-Levels – being globally recognised as the traditional school-leaving qualification from British education, can take a child anywhere in the world for their higher education. Most of our pupils choose to progress to UK universities and higher education institutes
2. Initial discussions with pupils begins in the first year of A-Levels, shortly after pupils start the A-Level courses. Initial discussions are held with form tutors
3. Applicants for UK universities are given guidance through the completion of the UCAS application system, including meetings and handouts. University counsellors track the progress of pupils during the process of completing all stages of UCAS applications, advising pupils on their progress
4. Extra support is given in the preparation of the personal statement – a critical component of the UCAS application
5. University application advisers prepare detailed, sympathetic references for pupils, tailor-made to illustrate the strengths and suitability of that child in the context of their educational journey thus far.
6. Applicants are given full support on all subsequent communication with higher education institutions which can include sitting for aptitude tests, travelling for interviews, submission of portfolio work and more.
7. Mock interviews are arranged for Oxbridge applicants and for pupils who have applied for Medicine and Veterinary Science
8. Applicants for the USA are given support from a dedicated team of advisors for US universities
9. US applicants are given support whether their selected universities subscribe to the Common Application System or require a unique direct application.
10. US applicants are supported through the completion of SAT or ACT examinations and are provided with appropriate transcript documentation and key points during the final school year.
11. SLC has developed and maintains close relationships with a variety of higher institutions in the UK, the USA, in Greece and beyond.
12. SLC selects with care and invites representatives of top universities to come into school and talk to pupils about higher education.
13. SLC monitors a vibrant, lively facebook group of ex-pupils who interact with current pupils in the process of applying to higher education to offer advice, tell of their own experiences and to answer questions.

Where have SLC children progressed to?

1. UK university placements over last ten years: 

2. In last two years we have sent pupils to study at a wide range of UK universities, including the following universities:Cambridge, Oxford, Bath, Leeds, Queen Mary London, LSE Reading Manchester Edinburgh, Birmingham, King’s College London, Imperial College London, Durham, Warwick, York, Lancaster and Bristol.
3. Beyond the UK: USA: Brown, NYU, Columbia, UCLA Berkeley, Boston University, University of Miami, UMass Amherst, Worldwide: Concordia (Canada), University of Toronto (Canada), University of Oslo (Norway), Melbourne (Australia), Bocconi University, Milan (Italy), Erasmus Univeristy, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

What do they study?

The A-Levels that pupils take at SLC can give access to undergraduate studies in any field. In just the last two years, pupils have left our school and begun degree courses in subjects a s diverse as

Medicine, French, Linguistics, Sociology, Government & Politics, Natural Sciences, Accounting & Finance, Law, Animation, International Relations, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Art, History, English Literature, Creative Writing, Film & Television Production, Biochemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Genetics, Nanotechnology, Economics

(Closing statement) SLC is proud of our pupils’ success and proud of our record in helping our pupils access many of the very best universities in the world. But we are not complacent. We recognise that receiving the right university studies at globally recognised institutions has never been more important, and has never been more competitive. We intend to build upon our success by remaining completely aware of changes to the demands made by universities. By continuing to develop the expertise of our university application advisory team and by developing our relationships with universities themselves and with organisations such as UCAS in order to give our school leavers the best chance to succeed.