An introduction to British Education
With more than fifty nationality backgrounds represented among the pupils of St. Lawrence College, it is understandable that some parents may have a limited knowledge of how British education is structured. St. Lawrence College delivers a truly British education from the pupil allocation across year groups, through its curriculum, its focus on extra-curricular activities and the development of the whole child in preparation for the modern world.

How is a school organised in the British education system?
The National Curriculum is followed by primary and secondary schools in the UK and ensures that all pupils receive the same high standard of education.

What are Key Stages?

Following pre-school, British education in schools passes through five Key Stages (KS). KS1 and KS2 are known as primary education and KS3, KS4 and KS5 are known as secondary education. Here at St. Lawrence College we also use the more international terms “junior” and “senior” school alongside the terms “primary” and “secondary” school.

The creation of Key Stages in British education has allowed for the identification of specific aims and objectives at various points in a child’s education while also creating a point of reference as schooling and children’s progress is monitored and discussed. The transitions between Key Stages are important, notably between KS2 and KS3, when a child progresses from junior to senior school. However, it is even more important to stress the continuity that British education ensures with Key Stages, throughout the development and learning cycles that a child experiences.

What are the benefits of the British education system?
A number of benefits result by identifying what British education is and by having a uniform structure to a school, with flexibility built-in so that the school can adapt to its local needs and unique circumstances:

• Pupils receive a carefully designed, broad and balanced education that focuses on key skill areas in English and Mathematics, while developing skills across sciences, humanities, sciences, languages, arts and Physical Education.
• Assessment of ability and knowledge as well as assessment to maximise future progress (“assessment for learning”) are both interwoven into the British school system and curriculum.
• The regular testing of pupils allows for the development of best examination skills and technique in preparation for public examinations at the end of KS4 and KS5.
• Pupils are able to make choices, especially beyond KS3, that allow them to focus on areas of interest, while following a core of compulsory subjects that deliver essential skills and knowledge.
• Local needs can be catered for. Here at St. Lawrence College, all children learn Greek to an appropriate standard for their needs.
• British education allows for immense depth of study at KS5, with the traditional A-Level qualifications. These courses, which have been the standard UK qualification at KS5 for many decades, remain by far the most common entry qualification for British universities as they foster skills of stamina, self-discipline and independence in study methods, as well as research and personal organisation skills that best prepare the pupil for the transition to life as an undergraduate student at a UK university.
• Continuity. Parents can rest assured that pupils who have to change schools, perhaps even change countries, can maintain a single continuous experience of education in the British system, developing the same skills and values. Wherever the British school is located, the learning continues uninterrupted.

Last but not least
Above all, the British education system aims to develop in a child the skills that will enable them to be a learner for life. Learning does not stop with the last school lesson.

Everyone needs the ability to continually question; the skill to develop strategies and to confront and build solutions; the interpersonal skills to work in a highly-connected global environment; and the modesty and self-confidence to use self-reflection and learning to improve oneself and to always strive to reach higher. British education develops those skills and St. Lawrence College is proud to deliver on these values.

Rationale

opportunity for the development of self-reliance, self-discipline, self-confidence and responsibility for learning

also strengthens the link between home and school

quality of homework more important than quantity

complementing and reinforcing classroom learning

fostering good lifelong learning and study habit

Aims

to encourage parent/carer partnership in learning

to encourage dialogue between parents/school, school/pupils and pupils/parents

to revisit objectives taught in school

to enhance and support learning

to encourage good learning habits

to be interesting and enjoyable

What homework involves

a short amount of homework to complete

research for a project &  topic work

reading, comprehension or grammar

a maths exercise or specific mental maths skills

spelling lists

Greek, French,  Chinese, Spanish  tasks

Role of the Class Teacher 

to make it purposeful

to reward and praise children

to mark homework and give feedback

to provide an explanation for parents

to give an easy-to-follow routine

to take equal opportunities into account

Role of the Pupil

to discuss homework with parents/caregivers

to complete homework tasks within set time frames

to follow up on comments made by teachers 

to seek assistance when difficulties arise 

to organise their time to allow for homework

Role of Parents /Caregivers

to praise the child for their efforts

to help their child develop a approach with talk and positive discussions

to ensure there is a balance between homework and recreational activities

to communicate with teachers about concerns

to check the homework diary each day

to discuss homework with the child

to provide a homework area without

to use methods suggested by the teacher to assist

to check the child’s efforts to learn basics such as times tables

to encourage reading for pleasure

How long should be spent on homework?

through KS2 time spent on homework will gradually increase

years 3 and 4: up to 30 minutes daily

years 5 and 6 homework will increase to 45 minutes, apart from time spent reading for pleasure

language teachers may assign homework once a week

these time estimations are only guidelines

Assessment in KS2

Summative assessment is commonly referred to as assessment of learning, in which the focus is on determining what the student has learned at the end of a unit of instruction or at the end of a grade level. Summative assessment helps determine to what extent the instructional and learning goals have been met.

What summative assessment is done in KS2?

Weekly reviews in Years 3 & 4 each Friday morning progressing to weekly tests in Years 5 & 6

Spelling lists

Mental maths skills

Regular English comprehension and grammar

Regular maths

Science unit tests according to each year’s  Cambridge curriculum requirements

Year 3: plants, life processes, classification of animals & plants, material properties, forces & motion, scientific enquiry

Year 4: the human body, animals in their environment, states of matter, sound, electricity & magnetism, scientific enquiry

Year 5: plants, changes in states of matter, light, the earth & beyond, scientific enquiry

Year 6: the human body, animals in their environment & feeding relationships, the environment, material changes of state, forces & motion, electricity & magnetism, scientific enquiry

Language attainment tests

End of year tests of attainment in  foreign languages: Chinese, French, Greek, Spanish

Regular unit/topic tests throughout the year

Cambridge Progression Tests

In term 3 in Year 6, official tests from Cambridge are sat in the 3 core subjects: English, maths & Science.

What formative assessment is done in KS2?

Formative assessment is commonly referred to as assessment for learning, in which the focus is on monitoring student response to and progress with instruction. Formative assessment provides immediate feedback to both the teacher and student regarding the learning process.

The most common procedures of formative assessment include the following.

Feedback. A teacher provides oral or written feedback to student discussion or work. For example, a teacher responds orally to a question asked in class; provides a written comment in a response or reflective journal; or provides feedback on student work.

Observation. A teacher observes and records a student's level of engagement, academic and/or affective behaviour; develops a plan of action to support that student; implements the plan; and continues to record observations to determine its effectiveness.

Portfolios. A growth portfolio can be used to create a record of student growth in a number of areas. For example, a teacher may use writing portfolios to collect evidence of a student's progress in developing writing skills.

St. Lawrence College pupils do themselves and their school proud!

While summer continues for all pupils, for some the last week has been a week of tension and concern, waiting for their exam results. Now though the waiting is over and the IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Level results have been released. And once again, St. Lawrence College pupils have produced a set of results that our school community can be collectively proud of.

Our Year 11 pupils sat for their IGCSE exams back in May, with 457 IGCSEs being sat by a total of 60 candidates. Across those 457 IGCSEs, by far the most common grade achieved was an A* grade – the best grade possible and only awarded for an exam mark above 90%. In fact, of the 457 IGCSEs taken, a remarkable 113 resulted in an A* grade – that is 25% of all the IGCSEs taken. What is more, 44% of all the IGCSEs resulted in either an A*or A grade. This is a little lower than the very high 2015 results, but still ranks well with results from the previous decade of Year 11 year groups. The second most frequent grade achieved was B – indeed two out of every three IGCSEs sat was within the A*/A/B grade range.

The UK national average of Year 11 pupils that receive at least five GCSEs of grade C or better is usually around 55%-60%. This year at St. Lawrence College, 92% of our Year 11 achieved this. What is more – and this was a first for our school – not a single IGCSE among the 457 taken across 16 subjects by 60 candidates was returned ungraded. In terms of success in specific subjects, of all IGCSEs taken in French, Greek or Russian, over 90% resulted in at least an A grade. Likewise 68% of pupils that sat for English Literature. Among the year group, there were several stand out performances from pupils. Emily Holden managed to score A* in every one of her nine IGCSEs. Alessandro Gressani secured eight A*s, Sadin Abdel Fattah and Alexander Petropoulos each bagged seven A*s while Stefania Riga and Ivy Hewett each scored six A*s among their IGCSEs. Congratulations to all of them.

At AS-Level and A-Level there were exactly 300 exam entries across 84 candidates – slightly more than last year’s 292 entries. The AS-Level is at once both a ‘stand-alone’ qualification as well as marking the halfway point for those aiming to complete the full A-Level in a subject. Combining this year’s results for these two qualifications, by far the most common grade awarded was A (including A* which is only available at A-Level, not AS-Level). 37% of all exams taken resulted in this top grade being achieved. While slightly lower than the percentage achieved in 2015 and 2014, it is, at 37%, exactly the same success rate as 2009 and 2010 (with smaller year groups on both occasions) and within a percentage or two of all other recent years’ results. Furthermore, the second most common grade achieved across all 300 exams was a B grade. Thus, 56%, or well over half of all AS-Levels and A-Levels taken in the 2016 exam session resulted in a grade within the A*/A/B grade range.

For the pupils awaiting their A-Level results, there was also the question of gaining admittance to universities. The vast majority are progressing to UK universities and along with the A-Level results came the final confirmation as to which university they will study at and what they will study. These results have sent our pupils to top universities across the UK. As examples of the diversity of destination and course, Melina Beykou, who achieved A*AAA will study Biological Sciences with Molecular Genetics at The University of Edinburgh. Marilena Eleftheriou (AAA) will start a Neuroscience degree at University College London (UCL). Mark Slipchenko (A*BBC) will study Economics at The University of Kent, while Danish Syed (AAB) is admitted to The University of Glasgow for Electronics and Electrical Engineering. Other degree courses to be studied include Dentistry, Politics, Business Management, History of Art, Sport Science and Fashion Marketing.

Headmaster Phil Holden commented “I congratulate all pupils on their exam achievements and wish those who are leaving us to continue their learning in higher education the very best of luck. Our IGCSE, AS and A-Level results are truly very strong in the global context of British education. I thank the teachers throughout St. Lawrence College for the professionalism, dedication and care that they always give and which have led to this day. Those teachers have done more than help our pupils pass their exams. They have helped our school leavers grow into young citizens with a sense of responsibility as well as being learners with adaptable skills. As such our pupils are well-prepared”.

To complement our science unit on space, 'Planetarium on the Go' visited our school, offering pupils from Reception to Year 6 an immersive experience inside their portable dome. Students enjoyed a captivating screening, observed the sun through a telescope, and even had the rare opportunity to handle a real meteorite.

As we celebrated British Science Week (7th – 16th March), our children made the most of the opportunity to do all things scientific. 

There were STEM challenges for the whole school throughout the week. Our KS2 classes saw the children involved in the challenge of making a catapult with a minimum set of simple resources and as little adult input as possible. They were amazingly successful in some cases! Our Reception and KS1 classes had the children find the best way to camouflage an egg with just a simple set of items. 

They even camouflaged themselves afterwards to see how it worked in real life! Creativity, ingenuity and learning can be such fun!

On Thursday 14th November 2024, the Greek Department organised an educational trip for our Year 9 pupils to Herakleidon Museum, in the centre of Athens.  During our visit our pupils enhanced their understanding of the Ancient Greek technology and its significance in shaping modern culture, science, and art. 

The museum featured a variety of displays, including models and artefacts that demonstrate the ingenuity of ancient Greek civilisation. Year 9 pupils engaged with interactive exhibits and explored ancient Greek inventions and innovations.

The whole experience of our visit to Herakleidon Museum not only enriched our pupils’ knowledge but also enhanced their critical thinking about the impact of technology on society. 

This November, Years 5 & 6 went on school trips to the Life in Space Exhibition at the Goudi Olympic Complex.  This exhibition brings children closer to the natural sciences and encourages them to grow their interest in learning about the positive impact of space technology on people’s daily lives (STEM). During the visit, pupils were encouraged to consider questions about why space research is so important; about how the International Space Station (the ISS) was built; and to explore how astronauts live in space. A fascinating topic to look into!

Year 1 took a trip, which was a well-deserved treat as this year is coming to its end, when they visited the Attica Botanical Park on Wednesday 7th June. The children have been enjoying their science unit on Plants and made the most of a day in the sun to put their classroom learning to real use in the big wide world. They had the chance to play in a beautiful environment, extend their knowledge and become “plant parents”. Now their little baby spring onion will not only add a special flavour to their food but also to their lives, as it will remind them of one of the best days in Year 1! It is wonderful to see our pupils grow and blossom like the finest flowers and healthy home-grown vegetables!

On Wednesday 31^st May the Reception classes went on a trip to the XPLORE Entertainment Centre at the Golden Hall in Athens. By spending time in the Oceans exhibit, the children learned all about marine life and took a closer look at different fish species. In the Science exhibition, they investigated how air, water and electricity work and had tremendous fun driving carts and investigating all about scary dinosaurs! 

On Sunday 28^th May, at the Peace & Friendship Stadium, the municipality of Piraeus held a competition titled FIRST® LEGO® League Festival. Our team of budding Lego and Robotics experts from the junior school represented St Lawrence College and made us very proud. The pupils had endeavoured to create eye-catching Lego constructions and to control them robotically with focus and determination.

FIRST® LEGO® League introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children ages 4-16* through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics program, helping today's pupils and teachers build a better future together.

They did very well and are sure to go on next year and achieve even more! Well done, children!

On Thursday 6^th April, Year 2 visited the Pedopolis learning centre in Glyfada to learn about looking after the environment. The children took part in the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Replace Program, as part of their Science Unit on Materials this term. The outing was fun and packed with learning!

On Monday 30^th March, Year 2 took a fun-packed trip to Athens to the Museum of Illusions. This visit was a perfect accompaniment to their science unit of learning Light, which taught the children all about how we use the eyes, what we actually see and what we think we see!

How the mind can be tricked by the eyes … or how the eyes can be tricked by the mind … is a fascinating thing for the children to experience and think about. Take a look at some of the amusing results!

On 24th March, Year 9 embarked on an exciting educational trip to expand their understanding of Science and History beyond the syllabi. We started at the Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Centre, where pupils had a private viewing of the course which delves into the heart of Ancient Athenian democracy, which has been painstakingly recreated by carefully reconstructing written and physical sources to produce an accurate depiction of the ancient city of Athens, with lots of interesting details added for the benefit of pupils – for instance, the solid gold head of the statue of Athina, the patron of the Ancient City, was so large that it could be seen from the sea.

On Monday 7^th November, Year 2 went to ‘Explore’ Entertainment Center at the Golden Hall in Athens. There, they saw a wonderful array of exhibits with everything from fish to teeth, electricity in action and much more. As the science topics this year focus on Habitats, The Human Body and other fascinating scientific areas of study, the children had ample opportunity to immerse themselves in an environment designed to inspire and encourage their curiosity.

Managing your child’s fears and worries can be a challenge at the best of times and we all require a little extra help. On Thursday, 30th September, we hosted a unique event at the Efilena Estate (next door to our campus)  in order to explore issues that concern our families and how to recognise their significance. The first part of the workshop was a tremendous success and is sure to encourage participation at the follow-up session in the same venue.  

Our school counsellor, Ms Stefania Zarri, a qualified and experienced psychologist, gave parents the opportunity to listen to the science behind the subject, express themselves and share their experiences too in a friendly atmosphere of mutual care and concern. We warmly invite all parents to join us for the next workshop on 4th November, and look forward to enjoying a light brunch in the delightful surroundings of the estate immediately afterwards.