It’s that time of the year again – and no, I don’t mean Christmas - I’m talking about something far more dear to the English department’s hearts: The Annual Senior School Book Exhibition. Such a reader’s dream come true! The books on offer were not only all the ones on our Extensive Reading Lists, but they also included a wide and eclectic selection of other tomes appealing to everyone ranging from Year 7 right through to A-Level and beyond.  

Yesterday, as the corridors of the C-Block were lined with colourful, enticing paperbacks and hardbacks, the books were flying off the shelves. All the many voracious readers of St Lawrence - both staff and pupils alike – enthusiastically scoured the bookshelves and were not left disappointed. The pleasure and excitement on people’s faces as they browsed, enquired and purchased was truly a joy to behold. Many thanks to everyone involved especially to Ms Xilas and her professional and personable team.

A splendid time was had by all. 

On the Thursday before the half-term break, St. Lawrence College was visited by representatives from two British universities, Royal Holloway, London and Warwick. For our Year 13s who are in the middle of making their applications and our Year 12s who are beginning to explore their options moving forward, it was a wonderful opportunity to find out about these universities specifically and UK universities in general as well as to make some really useful contacts. The wide array of excellent questions at the end of the two presentations showed just how interested our pupils were and also how positive it was that we were able to host visitors from the UK for the first time since the pandemic.

On Sunday 2^nd October, the annual race against breast cancer, The RACE for the CURE, took place in Zappeio, in the centre of Athens. As we do every year since this event first took place back in 2012, our school pupils, parents and teachers participated in the organised 2km walk and 5km run. The aim of this event is to raise awareness on the prevention of Breast Cancer through annual monitoring, and the money raised is used by the Panhellenic Society of Women with Breast Cancer, “ALMA ZOIS”, to support women who have or had breast cancer all around the country.

This event, which is a great celebration of life in the face of a serious disease, and is organised in many cities of the world, is the first event organised by our school’s Services Society every year and all the members are proud for encouraging and enabling our participation in an important and worthwhile cause like this.  Well done to all of those who took part in the hope that no more lives will be lost from this disease!

Our talented Year 12 and Year 13 Art pupils enjoyed a wonderful outing to the Goulandris Museum in Athens earlier this week. A guided tour explored famous works of art from a variety of art movements and genres and some traditional and non-traditional work was analysed with the aid of an excellent interactive program.

In addition to the pleasure and inspiration the trip generated, our A-Level pupils observed techniques and perceptions that will help them as they develop their own A-Level Art portfolios.

This year’s competition was themed ‘Summer’ and many entries were received, being submitted by pupils from across all year groups. The teachers of the Art department judged the contest, and while it was a close call, all judges agreed on the winners from the Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 categories.

Photographs were judged on technical skill, artistry, and the overall effectiveness in conveying the theme. In Key Stage 3, the winner was Alexandros Roberts Taoufik with an impressive photograph of a summer storm; in Key Stage 4, Martina Cugat Gregoriadis’ photo of a sleeping cat with the sea was judged the best, and in Key Stage 5 Monica Colombo’s image of octopuses on a Greek harbourside captured the essence of a Greek summer.

All photographs that were submitted are soon to be displayed in school, providing a welcome reminder of summer as the autumn draws on.

Every summer, for one month, St. Lawrence runs a highly successful, action-packed, fun-filled summer programme suited to children aged from three to fourteen. Yet again this year, SLC is the place to be as we are busy preparing a productive and enjoyable course of activities for your children from June 20th to July 15th. 

This year, our children under the age of 7 will follow an English based programme full of activities, language and sports, while children over 7 have the option of three specific programmes: English Language, Sports or Creative Art & Drama .

We offer exceptional tuition in English language, sport, dance, chess, recycled art, 3D paper architecture art, robotics, yoga, field games/survivor field/parkour, mini golf, roller skating, crafts, drama, music fun and many more activities.

At St. Lawrence College, we actively encourage our pupils to develop independence, confidence and leadership skills.

We focus on forming friendships, inspiring creativity, building life skills and having fun.

Do join us for an unforgettable summer adventure.

Registration is now open and we look forward to seeing your child/children on Monday 20th June at 9:00 a.m. for the start of an exciting summer.

Please contact the Registrar, Mrs. Emily Naoum, for further details, either by email or by phone at +30210 8917000

On the pleasantly warm evening of Friday 17^th June 2022, we held our 42^nd Annual Awards Ceremony for pupils of the junior and senior schools. Our Guest of Honour was Mr Matthew Lodge, the British Ambassador to Greece since August 2021, who spoke of the importance of savouring every moment of the journey towards reaching life goals – a valid point for these challenging times that we live in.

The pupils proudly received their awards for academic excellence, for effort, progress, sportsmanship, and overall contributions to school life, in front of their families, friends and staff. Our graduating pupils in Year 13 were in high spirits as their prospective paths in life were announced by our Headmaster, Mr Holden. The mood was uplifting and there were smiles all around as everyone of us appreciated being able once more to participate in this special event on such a grand scale after a hiatus of several years through the pandemic. A fine reception with delicious foods and drinks was enjoyed by guests afterwards.

To the graduating class of 2022, we wish you every success in your future endeavours!

On the last day of the Spring term, St Lawrence College Junior School welcomed the Easter holidays in with a traditional celebration, an Easter Bonnet parade. Many pupils from our youngest children in FS1, right up to Year 6 children with high school right round the corner, adorned themselves with flowers, Easter eggs, chicks, ribbons, and even Greek churches atop their head!  

With a theme of 'recycled material use’ given, the judges looked for home-made efforts that used everyday materials creatively to put a modern twist on an old theme. Prizes were awarded for the top effort in each year group and the winners eagerly received their big chocolate Easter eggs. Bravo to everyone who participated, it was another fun event to make us smile!  

Greek Independence Day is a national holiday celebrated annually to commemorate the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821. We commemorated this important occasion with our own assembly featuring pupils in our junior school working alongside teachers to present an array of performances to the school. This year, pupils in years 3, 4, 5 & 6 recited poetry, sang traditional songs with some pupils participating in traditional dances too along with some of our wonderful senior school girls. The performances were excellent all round!

During our annual Science Day on Friday 18th March, each class carried out investigations in both STEM and Scientific Enquiry activities. Year 4 created ‘elephant toothpaste’ and made containers to see which would float best and hold the greatest weight. Year 5 created invisible ink using lemon juice and used a heat source to reveal a secret message. In Reception classes, our pupils constructed weightbearing arches using pipe cleaners and beans. Across the school, science and technology ruled the day!  

No matter the weather, there's always something to put a smile on your face at St Lawrence College. What lies at the end of a rainbow – a pot of gold or a school full of happy children learning and living their best lives?! 

The start of the new year brings hope and positivity for the year we're embarking on, so we're collectively putting our best feet forward as we march on. 

On Friday 17th December 2021, St Lawrence College Junior School had an enjoyable Christmas carol concert with each year group singing uplifting Christmas carols and reciting seasonal poetry. Our music teacher, Ms Papalamprou, helped our pupils put on a super performance that showed just how delightful it is to perform and relish the joy of singing. Our school choir, with pupils from both the junior and senior schools, under the skilful guidance of Ms Romeos, sang beautifully too, raising spirits and putting everyone in a festive mood as we approach the holidays.  

Although friends and families could not join us for the actual show, it was videotaped and shared with our school community to enable us all to celebrate this most wonderful time of the year! 

Full video here

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Philosophy for Children (P4C)

At St. Lawrence College, we introduce both PSHE and P4C from the earliest opportunity.

In the Early Years, our youngest pupils begin to form new relationships while developing self-confidence, awareness, and independence. These foundations help them approach learning with assurance and growing autonomy. Throughout this stage, opportunities to build self-awareness and social skills are encouraged, preparing children for positive experiences throughout their schooling.

encouraging children to think deeply and critically

From the Early Years onwards, PSHE is taught weekly, with its values embedded across the wider curriculum. Lessons focus on themes such as family and relationships, health and well-being, safety, and citizenship. In this way, pupils are supported to develop the emotional and social skills that equip them for life both in and beyond the classroom.

P4C complements this process by encouraging children to think deeply and critically. It is an approach in which pupils learn to generate their own philosophical questions. Teachers — who have all received training in this area — act as facilitators, guiding children in their reasoning and questioning. Through an enquiry, based on structured dialogue, pupils learn to express their ideas clearly, to listen respectfully to others, and to respond thoughtfully within discussion.

Last weekend, St. Lawrence debaters took to the (virtual) podium once again to compete in the St. Catherines Debate Competition. Our senior teams did well, coming in very close to qualifying for the knockout stage, but this time round, the plaudits go to our younger debaters, with Alexandra and Sofia, 'Team SAvvy' (Year 9) and Theodora and Constantinos, 'Team The Con' (Year 10) taking part in their first senior competitions and all qualifying for the Novice Final in which they debated the motion "children should be taught to challenge authority from a young age".

After a very close debate which also included teams from Athens College and Pierce, Theodora and Constantinos took first place. Constantinos also took home the title of top novice speaker (If only his webcam had been working). Congratulations to all involved.  

Moving on from the end of primary school to the start of senior school is a significant milestone in any child’s life and is not to be taken lightly. Here at St Lawrence College, we take this transition very seriously and are sure to facilitate the most seamless transition between key stages as possible. Ms Zarri, our school counsellor, is always on hand to help; this term year 6 pupils have been guided through a series of lessons which help them prepare for September and have been taught useful strategies to cope with all kinds of worries and concerns they may have. With this level of positive support, we are sure they have nothing but excitement about the year to come!