With the warm summer weather upon us, it's that time of year when we need to think about the important topic of sun safety. The children of Year 3 take responsibility for sharing this vital message to their schoolmates here in the junior school and they were helped by the lovely ladies from ISDIN who donated many product samples to us. The famous song – Slip/Slap/Slop is a fun way for children to learn about the ways to protect themselves from the harmful effects of the sun. It was an amazing day of sun awareness for the whole of the junior school. Well done Year 3!

2023 Public Exam Results Success

The anxious wait for exam results is over now as IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Level results have been released, and it is now possible to draw conclusions and assess the performance of our school’s exam candidates from the 2023 summer exam session.

Year 13 and A-Level

Ahead of these results being released there had been substantial coverage in the media that the exam bodies would be strict in their marking this year, believing that the impact of the covid pandemic is fully in the past. This may have led to anticipation of lower marks, but even so, the performance of our Year 13 cohort has been impressive. Across all A-Levels taken in the UK, 27% were A*or A grades. At our school, 45% of all A-Levels taken were awarded A* or A grade.  One in six of all the A-Levels taken were awarded an A* at St. Lawrence College, compared to only one in every thirteen A-Levels across the UK.

More than a quarter of our school’s Year 13 pupils (19 of the 72 pupils) achieved straight A*/A grades across all their subjects. One in every six A-Levels resulted in an A* while just under half were an A* or A grade. Indeed, an “A” was by far the most frequent grade awarded, being easily more common than the second most frequent, a “B” grade, with “A*” being the third most frequent grade across the Year 13 cohort.

In terms of performance within subject areas, more than half of all candidates achieved at least an A grade in Biology, Chemistry, French, Further Mathematics, Geography, Greek and Physics A-Levels. Particularly impressive were Biology and Further Mathematics where the A* rate was 47% and 27% respectively.

Many pupils did extremely well, with the following being truly outstanding: Nikolaos Synodinos (4A*), Dingnan Huang (3A*), Yuqian Liao (3A*1A), Foteini Kalamatianou (3A*) and Timothy Tay (3A*).

For our pupils now completing school, there now faces the transition to universities and colleges around the world. A very small selection of these, to give an example of the variety, includes UK universities such as Queen Mary London, Imperial College, London, Warwick, Edinburgh, Manchester, Durham, and UCL London. Also, we have pupils taking up courses at universities in the USA, Italy, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Canada, Cyprus, Austria and Spain. Just as varied as the destinations, are the degree courses our school-leavers will be starting, which include Aeronautical Engineering, Business Management, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Economics, Dentistry, Accounting & Finance, Fine Art and Law.

Year 12 and AS-Level

At AS-Level, where “A” is the highest possible grade (A* doesn’t exist at AS-Level) global assessment was once again set to pre-pandemic standards, leading to an anticipated moderation of grades among schools across the UK and around the world. At our school, our Year 12 cohort performed very admirably, matching the achievements of typical years over the pre-pandemic era.

That more than one out of every three among the 253 AS-Levels taken resulted in an A grade demonstrates this. Indeed, with “A” being by far the most common outcome, with a frequency twice that of any other individual grade, the collective AS-Level achievement can be considered impressive. 

Analysis by subject reveals that at least half of all pupils’ AS-Levels in Art, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Greek, History and Physics resulted in either an A or B grade.

Across the entire cohort, 14 of our pupils in Year 12 scored straight A grades. Among those were Dimitrios Grigoropoulos (5As), Huijie Cathy Su (5As), Kleopatra Anastassiou (4As), Yunhan Emily Chen (4As), Paris Larios (4As), Yun Zena Li (4As), Efstathios Pettas (4As), and Ziqing Tracy Qian (4As).

Year 11 and IGCSE

More than one in three pupils (34%, or 28 of the 82 pupils) scored either straight A*/A grades or had a majority of A*/A grades as their results from IGCSEs.

Analysis of specific subjects reveals that at least half of all pupils scored A* or A or B in Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, English Language, English Literature, French, History, Mathematics, Physics and Spanish; and in most of these subjects, half the candidates or more achieved at least an A grade. Overall, 42% of the 625 IGCSEs/GCSEs taken resulted in an A* or A grade, while 80% scored at least a C grade.

Pupils who achieved notable success include Konstantinos Zafeirakis (8A*,1A), Despina Salachas (8A*,1B), and Guoguo Chen (7A*,1A,1C)

Well done!

St. Lawrence College Headmaster Phil Holden commented “These results reflect the hard work of so many of our pupils and indicate that anything is possible with determination and perseverance. I also congratulate and thank our outstanding teachers and school staff, right across St. Lawrence College, for all their hard work that has led to these achievements through the last school year and throughout these pupils’ education building up to this point. Finally, I wish our school leavers every happiness and success as they embark on the next stage of their lives, whatever that is. I hope they will keep happy memories of their school days at St. Lawrence College!”

On Wednesday 19^th June, St. Lawrence College hosted its Annual Awards Ceremony to bring the academic year 2022-2023 to a close. With a warm atmosphere of affection for the school, nostalgia for times gone by and with excitement for the future, our extended school community congratulated the pupils who had worked so hard all this year. The graduating class of senior school pupils preparing for university and beyond were acknowledged by all and their achievements noted. Our guest of honour, Professor Stathis Kalyvas from Oxford University spoke of finding integrity in whatsoever one should choose to do in life, and our Head Pupil relayed her thanks to all those who had contributed to educating this cohort of graduates. All in all, it was a joyous occasion to be remembered as we head into the summer and the range of fun-filled sunny days that follow. We look forward to welcoming our school body back in September for another successful year of learning!

On the last day of summer term, Tuesday 20^th June, Year 5 headed off with great excitement to the Aquapolis Water Park in Attica. The children enjoyed an amazing day of fun and games in the sun, splashing, sliding and swimming with their classmates. The pupils were easily recognisable with their school T-shirts on, and they were protected from the sun too. There was complete agreement from all who attended that it was the best school trip of the year!

On the last day of the summer term, Year 5 donned their swimsuits and happily headed off for the Aquapolis Water Park in Spata for a day of fun in the sun. The children were thrilled by the prospect of one whole school day of water play and could barely contain their excitement. The teachers remarked how well organised it was and how easily the children could be kept safe but hugely entertained by their surroundings. The sun shone, the water sparkled, and the children laughed. A great way to finish up the year!

The summer term is always packed with activities and events, particularly the sporting kind. This year has been no exception as the pupils have run, swum, jumped and hopped around the sports fields here at school. Children and parents alike came to school with a competitive edge, ready to take on the world! And they thoroughly relished the process of smashing their personal bests or even in a few instances, some long standing school records!

Well done to all our young athletes and all their physically demanding efforts to excel!

At the end of the summer term in May and June 2021, a number of pupils who receive tuition from our experienced team of peripatetic music teachers sat for important music exams with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. And what an outstanding set of results they achieved! We wish the warmest congratulations to our pupils to our young pianists:  

• Mike Enyuan received Grade 6 Distinction 

• Xizhe Ji received Grade 6 Merit 

• Lawrence Papadakis received Grade 1 Merit 

• Julia Min received Grade 1 Distinction 

• Abby Su received Grade 5 Distinction 

• Leona Zhu received Grade 5 Merit 

And for our young guitarists too, we heartily congratulate them: 

• John Esther received Grade 5 Merit 

• Kimberly Wang received Grade 4 Pass 

In our three Reception classes, the five-year olds have been wrapped up in fairy tales this summer term. They have been learning how to re-tell and illustrate their stories as well as perform to an audience in class. Jack & the Beanstalk has been the story under scrutiny, with improvisations about it using imaginative classroom materials to represent the singing harp and other key features of this well-loved children’s tale.  

During the weekend Friday 11th to Sunday 13th December, fourteen pupils from St. Lawrence College participated in the Costeas-Geitonas MUN Conference, following a long tradition of pupils from our school taking part in this event which is held every December. This year’s Conference was held online and, despite the challenges, our pupils were as excited as ever and participated with enthusiasm, dedication and commitment. Everyone is very proud of them, especially their teachers and their parents, as they sacrificed much free time preparing for the event as well as participating for long hours over the weekend, discussing important international issues with their fellow delegates from other schools. And they are already discussing their participation to the next MUN Conference! A special mention needs to be made of Eleni Kalendi, Joanna Sakkadas and Christina Beykou who held Chairing positions in the Legal Committee, the Environmental Commission and the International Court of Justice; positions of great responsibility and ones that required extra work from them even during the summer. And they held those positions like true ladies! This event seemed to prove once again that young people are the only hope we have for a better future!

As we head towards the end of June 2020, the children of the junior school are quietly unwinding and dreaming about the summer holidays ahead. The teachers are really happy to have had these few weeks back at school to reconnect with their classes and finish off the academic year with some semblance of normality. What a rollercoaster of a year it was! But when we can take the time to sit with our children in a shady spot, read a book or discuss a topic of interest in class, we realise the importance of just being together as a group and sharing the pleasure of each other's company. That's what school is about, after all. 

Ms Mavrikou from Doctors of the World visited our school on Tuesday 26th November to thank our pupils for their generous donation of 1,500€, raised before the summer. She explained how the money will be used to help those in need at their clinics. St. Lawrence College Junior School pupils made a promise to continue their support of this organisation. 

In the summer term of 2019, the junior school held a number of sports days with events ranging from flat races, circuits activities, high jumps and tug-of-war to swimming galas. Children, parents and teachers loved the excitement of these competitions as the pupils earned house points that contributed to the grand total. There were a plethora of new school records in many disciplines this year too, including freestyle and breaststroke swimming races as well as the high jump. 

The standard of athleticism just keeps on rising higher and higher! At the Annual Awards Ceremony, Macedonia won the Sports Cup this year, having proved that they had the edge over both Epirus and Attica teams. Onwards and upwards towards next year's competitions and events!

During bright and cheerful holiday celebrations with your friends and family, it’s important to stop and reflect on our blessings while also being aware that not everyone is as fortunate. In this charitable spirit, on Tuesday 18th December, the Y3 & Y4 Charity Ninjas held a Christmas Bake Sale in support of those who lost their homes in the fires of Eastern Attica in the summer of 2018. 

The proceeds raised, an impressive total of €500 was spent on buying 210 electric blankets to help those badly affected citizens keep warm this winter season. Many parents of junior school pupils contributed homemade baked goods for this fundraising event. Children visited the bake sale during the course of the day and our Charity Ninjas helped sell all our treats. 

We would like to thank all parents, friends and families for your ongoing support for all such endeavours we take on. 
 

During this summer term, the Early Years classes have been keeping busy with learning in and out of school. On Monday 23rd April, the FS1 and FS2 classes went to the zoo where they saw lots of different animals and even got the chance to pet some of them. Everyone's favourite was the amazing dolphin show as they loved watching the dolphins jump and splash the water with their flippers.

Then on 10th May the children took a trip to ever-exciting fire station to reinforce their learning in the topic of ‘People Who Help Us’. They learnt about the special helmets and clothes the fire fighters wear to protect them from fire, and they were even allowed to take turns spraying water with the hose.

What fun they're having in Early Years! 

It barely felt like the end of summer, let alone autumn, on the warm evening of Friday 20th October 2017 when the St Lawrence community put on its biggest bash of the year. Wizards, witches, ghosts and skeletons filled the school grounds and the smell of sizzling souvlaki enticed everyone to eat, drink and be merry! 

The night was the finale to a two-day celebration in the junior school which saw the return of the classic Spook House created to shock and thrill the children in traditional Halloween style! In addition to the treats, food and drink on offer, there were of course the fantastic pumpkins on display; they seem to get more creative and ambitious in design every year! 

The senior school also used the opportunity to support the charity Khora which helps refugees here in Athens, and the school council gave children the opportunity to throw wet sponges at some of the senior school pupils, all for a good cause!

When the pumpkin class prizes had been awarded and the music was finally turned off, the party came to an end, but what a success it was! Here's to next year!