Last Saturday, nearly 40 of our pupils were joined two ex-pupils for their first online debate club meeting. Rosie Vorri (Durham) and Achilleas Papadimitriou (Cambridge) headed the debate societies at their universities and were very successful debaters during their time at St. Lawrence, so they brought a wealth of experience, which the young debaters can tap into. This meeting was just the start of the club's activities as the online format should allow for us to take part in competitions all over the world over the course of the year.

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!

At St. Lawrence College we recognise that the positive relationship between young people, their parents, their friends, and the school is fundamental for our pupils to grow and flourish into well-rounded individuals. Children and teenagers today, in all walks of life, face real concerns; they are exposed to some overwhelming external and internal struggles. It is important that pupils and parents have access to accurate and appropriate information about social, emotional and physical well-being. This page shares highly relevant guidance from many well-regarded external agencies and services, both in the U.K. and here in Greece, that will help to support the needs of our pupils and their families. Click the links to access up-to-date documents about a range of pastoral care issues.

Mental health and well-being

You’re never too young to talk mental health Tips for parents and carers on talking to young children. (Anna Freud)

Talking to an 11-18 year old about their mental health A guide for parents, carers, family members and guardians on how to talk to young people about their mental health and wellbeing. (Mind)

Starting the mental health conversation How to talk to your children about mental health. (SAMH)

Understanding Mental Health Problems Information for anyone who experiences problems with their mental health. (SAMH)

Am I ok? Thinking about your mental health. (SAMH)

Asking for help: A guide for young people Tips for when it’s time to talk about your mental health, or if you want to help a friend. (CWMT)

I am worried about my child A guide for parents and carers worried about their child’s mental health. (SAMH)

How to help a friend A guide to helping your friend with their mental health. (SAMH)

Helping someone else  How to support a friend with their mental health. (Anna Freud)

5 ways for better well-being How pupils can look after their mental health and well-being. (SAMH)

5 ways for better well-being for families How to look after your family’s mental health and well-being. (SAMH)

Self-Care for Children and Young People  What children and young people can do to look after their mental health. (Anna Freud)

Self-care for parents and carers Self-care for parents and carers

Low mood and depression

Supporting children and young people with depression Information for parents and carers to support children and young people with depression. (Anna Freud)

Depression the warning signs What are the warning signs that you or someone you know may be depressed? (CWMT)

Depression Facts and advice about the ‘common cold of psychiatry’. (CWMT)

A parent’s guide to depression Supporting your child with depression. (CWMT)

Depression self-help guide A self help guide for anyone experiencing depression and low mood. (NHS)

Self-care for depression Find tips on caring for yourself (Mind)

Stress & Anxiety

What is stress?  A guide to understand stress, how you can help yourself and get support. (Mind)

Exam stress and pressure Useful tips for those sitting exams. (Childline)

Coping with anxiety Understanding and coping with anxiety (Childline)

Anxiety and panic attacks  Understanding and coping with anxiety and panic attacks (Mind) 

Supporting children and young people with anxiety Information for parents and carers to support children and young people with anxiety. (Anna Freud)

Supporting children and young people with social anxiety disorder Information for parents and carers to support children and young people with social anxiety disorder. (Anna Freud)

Supporting children and young people with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)Information for parents and carers to support children and young people with post traumatic stress disorder. (Anna Freud)

Self-esteem

Working on your self-esteem  A self-help book to help you cope better with low self-esteem. (NHS)

Building confidence and self-esteem Tips to boost your self-esteem. (Childline)

Perfectionism

Perfectionism When striving for excellence becomes unhealthy. (CWMT)

Anger

Anger Explaining anger, practical suggestions for what you can do to deal with anger and where you can go for support. (SAMH)

Anger Issues A self-help book to help you cope better with irritability and anger. (Wellbeing Glasgow)

Tips for 11-18 year olds on dealing with anger Tips and ideas for young people on how to cope when you feel angry. (Mind)

Sleep

Information for 11-18 year olds on sleep and mental health A guide for young people on sleep and mental health, what causes poor sleep and how it might affect you. (Mind)

Tips on improving your sleep Tips and ideas for young people on how to improve your sleep now and in the future. (Mind)

Problems sleeping Tips for better sleep (Childline)

Friendships

Friendship problems Advice and tips to manage friendship issues. (Childline)

Peer pressure  Ways to manage peer pressure. (Childline)

Making friends Top tips to making friends. (Childline)

The social connection planner How to better meet your social needs. (The Wellness Society)

Sex & Relationships

Sex and consent Information about sex and consent for teens (Childline)

Relationships Advice on what to do if you’re not sure about a relationship. (Childline)

ContraceptionInformation about contraception and safe sex. (Childline)

SextingAdvice to help teens about sexting and sending nudes. (Childline)

Pregnancy Advice on what to do if you worry about being pregnant. (Childline)

Puberty & Body Image

Teenage body Advice for help and support dealing with changes and looking after your body. (Childline)

PubertyInformation about puberty

Sexual and Gender Identity

SexualityTrying to understand your sexuality can be confusing sometimes. If you’re struggling to cope or you’re not sure what to do next, we’ve got advice to help. (Childline)

Gender identity Information and advice about gender identity. (Childline)

LGBTQI+ mental health Support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex young people. (Anna Freud)

Coming out Answers to some questions you may have. (The Proud Trust)

Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children

Self-harm

Self-harm coping techniques Information about self-harm and safer ways to cope. (Childline)

A parent’s guide to self-harm The nature and causes of self-harm and how to support a young person that is facing this problem. (CWMT)

Supporting children and young people who self-harm Information for parents and carers to support children and young people who self-harm. (Anna Freud)

Suicidal thoughts

Suicidal feelings A booklet explaining why you may have suicidal feelings and providing some options to help you look forward and break the cycle of negative thoughts. (Mind UK)

How to support someone who feels suicidal Practical suggestions for what you can do to support someone who is suicidal and where you can go for support. (Mind UK)

Eating Disorders

I'm worried about someone with an eating disorder  Advice if you are worried that someone has an eating disorder. (Beat UK)

Distraction techniques Ways to distract yourself from the urge to use eating disorder behaviours (Beat UK)

Learning Difficulties

Supporting children and young people with ADHD Information for parents and carers to support children and young people with ADHD. (Anna Freud)

Dyslexia and learning disability Ways to cope with dyslexia and learning difficulties. (Childline)

Alcohol & Drugs

Supporting children and young people with alcohol and substance use disorder Information for parents and carers to support children and young people with alcohol and substance use disorder. (Anna Freud)

A parent’s guide to alcohol What is the harm of alcohol before 18 years of age? (What’s the harm, UK)

The Truth about Drugs An A-Z booklet giving the low down on lots of legal and illegal drugs. (Talk to Frank)

Drugs – Does your child know more than you? Detailed drugs advice for parents and carers. (Talk to Frank)

Bullying

A parent’s guide to bullying Information and advice to support you and your child if they are being bullied. (Family Lives)

Cyberbullying 10 things you need to know to support your child. (Internet Matters)

Anti-bullyingA tool for parents and carers. (Anti-Bullying Alliance)

Bullying and cyberbullying Tips to deal with bullying or to help a friend

Family Problems

Family problems Advice for teens when you’re not getting on with your family. (Childline)

Divorce or separation of parents

Divorce and separation Ways to cope with divorce and separation. (Childline)

My family’s changing Coping with your feelings when your parents separate or divorce. (CAFCASS)

Divorce & Separation A Parents Guide Information and advice to support your family while you're going through divorce or separation (Young Minds)

Parents and carers in conflict or separating Tips for parents and carers experiencing conflict, and advice on reducing the impact of conflict between parents and carers on children. (Anna Freud)

Step-families

A parent’s guide to successful step-families Advice and guidance for step-families. (Family Lives)

Bereavement

After a loved one dies – how children grieve How parents and adults can support bereaved children and young people. (New York Life Foundation)

Coping with the loss of a loved one Some guidance on grief and bereavement. (Cancer.org)

Social Media

Building a good online reputation Tips to help children create a good digital footprint. (Internet Matters)

Instagram Checklist to make sure that your Instagram account is safe. (Internet Matters)

Instagram  Advice to young people on social media. (SWGFL)

Parental control - Instagram Parental advice for safety and privacy. (Internet Matters)

Snapchat  Advice to young people on social media. (SWGFL)

Parental control - Snapchat Parental advice for safety and privacy. (Internet Matters)

Tik Tok Advice to young people on social media. (SWGFL)

Parental control – Tik Tok Parental advice for safety and privacy. (Internet Matters)

Facebook Advice to young people on social media. (SWGFL)

Parental control – Facebook Parental advice for safety and privacy. (Internet Matters)

Whatsapp Advice to young people on social media. (Internet matters)

Parental control – Whatsapp Parental advice for safety and privacy. (Internet Matters)

Parental control – Youtube Parental advice for safety and privacy. (Internet Matters)

Cyberbullying 10 things you need to know to support your child. (Internet Matters)

Internet safety

Online safety for parents of children 0-5 years Offers advice on how to ensure that very young children remain safe when online. (Internet Matters)

Online safety for parents of children 6-10 years Offers advice on how to ensure that young children remain safe when online. (Internet Matters)

Online safety for parents of children 11-13 years Offers advice on how to ensure that young people remain safe when online. (Internet Matters)

Online safety for parents of children 14+ years Offers advice on how to ensure that young people remain safe when online. (Internet Matters)

Moving to secondary school guide Offers advice on how to ensure that children transitioning between junior and senior school remain safe when online. (Internet Matters)

A parent’s secondary school guide Information about how to support your child so they are safe online. (Internet Matters)

Set up safe checklist A simple checklist for your child’s safety on the internet. (Internet Matters)

Digital resilience 11-13 years Advice for parents of children 11-13 to help them become more digitally savvy. (Internet Matters)

Digital resilience 14+ years Advice for parents of teens to help children become more digitally savvy. (Internet Matters)

Online Gaming

Gaming advice to support teens Parental advice for when teenagers play computer games. (Internet Matters)

Balancing Screen Time

Balancing screen time Key Stage 3 Advice for parents on helping children in Years 7-9 find a balance between life on and offline. (Internet Matters)

Balancing screen time Key Stage 4 and 5 Advice for parents on helping young people in Years 10-13 find a balance between life on and offline. (Internet Matters)

In these unprecedented times our school's Services Society managed to complete two projects during the first part of the Autumn term. All of us together, pupils, parents and teachers, continued our support for the Soup Kitchen in Anavyssos, a philanthropic organisation with whom we, as a school, have longstanding strong links, by providing them with much needed food items for their everyday operations. 

We have been supporting the unaccompanied refugee young teenage boys of FAROS for a few years now. Currently there are 22 young boys who have very little to occupy them in their spare time. The Services Society, assembled 22 back-pack bags for them, packed with items as varied as notebooks, pens, pencils and other school supplies, drawing items, small puzzles, cereal bars, toothpaste and toothbrushes, Dettol soaps and disinfectant gels. We also donated to the organisation that takes care of them books that both the English and the Greek Departments kindly offered. It is certainly with great pleasure that we gave these bags to the 22 boys, who have experienced tremendous struggles in their lives so far, something constructive to do in their free time.

Many thanks are offered to all of those involved in these projects from precious young volunteer helpers of the Services Society from the Junior School through to the oldest Year 13 pupils who have never refused to contribute and help.

On Tuesday 27th October, St Lawrence College exhibited a celebratory air with lots of Hallowe’en fun!  The children and teachers came to school dressed for the occasion  and had a day of active learning with an autumn theme! The family efforts with classic pumpkin carving were outstanding again with some breath-taking designs!  

The Greek National Holiday to commemorate 28th October 1940 was celebrated before the half term break at St Lawrence College Junior School in a socially distanced manner for the first time. The classes of Year 6, which usually head up our performances, took part in a History Quiz based on all their learning about OXI Day and the significance of the Greek resistance. Through the quiz, the pupils learned about the main events of World War II in Greece and the battle of Democracy against Fascism. Despite the masks and the absence of a parental audience, the children enjoyed the experience.  

A different kind of autumn term is well underway at St. Lawrence as we navigate our way through the end of 2020. Every day brings a new challenge to deal with. This term sees a masked school population, social distancing as the new norm in our playgrounds and classrooms, but we have come to terms with the alternative ways we are obliged to operate. This week, we held our first round of virtual parent teacher conferences successfully and realised that effective contact can be meaningfully maintained with the help of our devices. All in all, we are doing very well under the circumstances and would like to say a heartfelt thank you to our pupils, small and big, who are coping admirably, and to our teaching faculty too.

During the weekend of Saturday 3^rd and Sunday 4^th of October 2020, 13 pupils of our school, from Year 8 to Year 13, took part in a “different” online MUN Conference organised by Campion School under the guidance of Ms Kladouchou and Ms Tsirigoti.

It was their first experience of an online public speaking event and for some even their first experience of an MUN Conference. Yet, both the old and the new members of our school’s MUN Club enjoyed the experience enormously. Two of our oldest pupils were Presidents of WHO (World Health Organisation) and ICC (International Criminal Court) respectively and made themselves and the school very proud with the calm and effective guidance they provided to all delegates of their committees. Three of our younger pupils, two of whom took part for their very first time, were voted ‘Best Delegate’ or were awarded an ‘honourable mention’ for their successful preparation and impressive presence in their committees, the ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council), the WHO and the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee respectively.

We all feel very proud of them, not only because they sacrificed their whole weekend for this participation but also because they did show that extracurricular activities can be performed and enjoyed even during these unprecedented times. Well done to all participants and good luck with their preparation for the next MUN Conference, the DSAMUN!

Our pupils received very proudly their awards for the Intermediate and Junior Mathematics Challenges that took place during the academic year 2019-2020! We are very proud not only for the pupils who were awarded a certificate but for all the pupils who participated in both challenges. The results of the Junior Mathematics Challenge can be found below while the results of the Intermediate Maths challenge can be found here.   

In the meantime, our senior mathematicians have started their preparation for the Senior Mathematics Challenge that will take place online the week beginning 2nd November. It is the first time our school will be participating in the Senior Mathematics Challenge. We wish them the very best of luck and we are looking forward to seeing our younger mathematicians again at the E = mc² lunchtime club to learn and be prepared for new challenges!  

Gold Certificate Winners:  

Yifei (Fiona) Wang and Haoting Jia 

Silver Certificate Winners: 

Yanran Cao, Karim Bakri, JiaChen, Lin, Ye Yutong and Konstantinos Zafeirakis  

Bronze Certificate Winners:  

Xu (Lucy) Han, Nicholas Lembidakis, Cui Qikai and Wang Yilin (Rosemond) 

Our pupils’ 2020 public exam grades attain the highest of standards

Mid-August wouldn’t be the same without the anxious wait for the public examination grades of our eldest pupils. Although all 2020 public examinations were cancelled by the UK authorities as a consequence of the covid-19 pandemic, pupils who were working towards IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Levels had been promised grades and certificates by the exam boards. Those grades have now been awarded and released.

The qualifications have been issued by exam bodies who used a combination of data and “assessment grades” submitted by schools as well as the exam bodies’ own statistical records regarding how schools’ pupil cohorts had performed in recent years.

This year, our pupils have received, collectively, grades that represent a tremendous achievement and they have improved upon the grades of recent years at A-Level and AS-Level, while matching the standards of recent years at IGCSE. Even in a ‘normal’ year these would be outstanding results, but given the challenge of recent months, our Year 11, 12 and 13 pupils should be especially proud of themselves.

A-Level

The 38 pupils of our Year 13 have been awarded 123 A-Level grades. The statistics are very impressive:

·         26% of all grades were an A* (up from 20% in 2019 and 13% in 2018)

·         More than half – 52% - of all grades were A*/A (up from 51% in 2019 and 34% in 2018)

·         More than three quarters – 76% - of all grades were A*/A/B and 85% were at least a C grade; again higher percentages than in both 2019 and 2018.

Two of our A-Level pupils each achieved a remarkable four A* grades – congratulations Ioanna Moirasgenti and Harry Karaiossifides; while Yueyang Li managed three A*s and two A grades.

AS-Level

Perhaps even more impressive are the AS-Level grades awarded to our Year 12 pupils. A total of 147 grades have been awarded to 43 pupils and the statistics truly demonstrate the excellence of this cohort of pupils. Note that the highest possible grade at AS-Level is A; and that A* does not exist at AS-Level.

• 56% of all AS-Level grades have resulted in A; up from 41% in 2019 and 40% in 2018.
• 86% of all grades awarded were a C grade or better; up from 73% in 2019 and 59% in 2018.

Outstanding individual pupil achievements included Panagiota Paraskevopoulou (AAAAB); Yijun Chen (AAAA); Yurui Cui (AAAA); Eleni Kalendi (AAAA); Markella Papadopoulou (AAAA); Jake Paternoster (AAAA); and Kaibo Wang (AAAA). Very well done to those young men and women and all our pupils.

IGCSE

A huge number of IGCSE grades have been awarded to our Year 11 pupils – 522 in total. This is far more than in recent years; in 2019 there were 420 IGCSE entries and in 2018, 386 entries. This year’s IGCSE grades were as equally impressive as in recent years and, by some measurements, even stronger. Thus:

• 25% of all IGCSEs resulted in an A* (2019 – 23%; 2018 – 25%)
• 47% of all IGCSEs resulted in an A*-A (2019 – 47%; 2018 – 45%)
• 83% of all IGCSEs resulted in an A*-C (2019 – 79%; 2018 – 90%)

Stand out achievements included Katrina Lemane (9A*); Leda Persidi (8A*, 1A); Athanasios Kapoutsis (7A*, 2A); Zoe Raptis (7A*, 2A); Danil Tsaran (7A*, 2A) with many other pupils securing multiple A* and A grades – congratulations to them all!

Higher Education

Many of our A-Level pupils are now progressing to higher education courses. The most popular destination is, of course, the UK, with pupils leaving us to start as undergraduates at such renowned universities as UCL, King’s College London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sussex, Queen Mary London, UEA, Lancaster, Bath and Southampton to name just a few. Other pupils are continuing their education at universities in countries such as the USA, Canada, The Netherlands; while a few will remain in Greece and attend institutions such as Deree College and BCA.

Our graduating pupils will study a fascinating diversity of degree courses including (but not limited to!) Medicine, Mathematics, Marine Technology & Engineering, Theoretical Physics, Chemical Physics, Aeronautics & Astronautics, Design Innovation & Creative Engineering, Neuroscience, International Relations, International Business Management, Classical Studies, Animation, and Environmental Geoscience.

Headmaster Phil Holden commented “I am delighted with the collective achievement of our pupils in this most difficult of years. These remarkable grades reflect the outstanding work our pupils have invested into their IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Level courses and I am very happy, and somewhat relieved, that their efforts have been recognised by the exam bodies of the UK. I congratulate all our pupils and I especially wish to thank all our school staff who have also supported our pupils with such consistency and dedication. This includes teachers of these pupils from earlier years in each child’s education. I know that so many of our pupils worked very, very hard through a stressful period and were well supported by the school and parents and so I am not surprised at how well they have done – their success was richly deserved and we can all take pride in their accomplishment”.

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. 

This year pupils from St. Lawrence College were given the opportunity to test their Mathematics ability by participating in two competitions organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT).

In February, 47 pupils from Years 9, 10 and 11 competed against school children from across the globe in the Intermediate Mathematics Challenge. With only the top scoring 40% of all participants being awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold Certificate, we were extremely proud to learn that 70% of our pupils had reached the required standard with 10 pupils being awarded a Gold Certificate and three of those, Xuchen Meng, Jingyue Zhai and Kristian Narsesian, scoring high enough to qualify for the Canley Olympiad. A full list of certificate winners can be found below but congratulations to everyone who took part and even though the Olympiad was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, our first year of competition at Intermediate Level can definitely be considered a success.

After much delay, the Junior Mathematics Challenge, originally scheduled for April 30^th, finally took place online on Friday 19th and was a great way to finish the year. Nineteen Year 7 and 8 pupils responded to the challenge. We wish them the best of luck with their results which will be available on July 8^th. All certificates will be presented in September but until then we wish our budding mathematicians a happy and safe summer and look forward to seeing them again next year at the E = mc²  lunchtime club to prepare for more challenges!

Gold Certificate Winners:

Xuchen Meng (Y9) (Best-in-school, Best-in-year), Jingyue Zhai (Y11 -Best-in-year), Kristian Narsesian (Y9), Emily Chen (Y9), Wilson Wang (Y10 - Best-in-year), Wenjing Jin (Jenny) (Y11), Yuqian Liao (Y10), Jiayan Ye (Y10), Lynne Huang (Y11), Ying Yikai (Y10).

Silver Certificate Winners:

Zihan Ding (Y10), Huijie Su (Y9), Dingnan Huang (Y10), Kexin Chong (Y9), Zuyi Wang (Y9), Selina Xing (Y11), Xueying Yang (Y9), Yun Li (Y9), Baoyue Zhang (Y10), Georgios Lazos (Y11).

Bronze Certificate Winners:

 Ziyue Gan (Miya) (Y9), Keying Chong (Y9), Shuqi Ren (Y10), Jingxuan Huang (Y9), Shiwen Liu (Y9), Katerina Leontakianakou (Y9), Huanyu Zhang (Y10), Jin Wenchuang (Y11), Junyao Jiang (Y9), Timothy Tay (Y10), Anna Sokolova (Y10), Ivan Cado (Y9), Stella Stojanov (Y10)

This April 2020, during school closure, our Year 4 pupils have been exploring their artistic side, but with a twist. They took on the Getty Museum Challenge in recreating famous paintings using random house objects. They did an incredible job and some even took it a step further by bringing well-known book characters to life too! 

Vermeer’s “The girl with the pearl earring,” was beautifully done by Catherine and Abigail. Dimitris did an impressive job with his portrait of Agostino Pallavicini, by Anthony Van Dyck. Constantinos recreated Old Man with a Fur cap, Alex became the French Boy with Dog, Jerom became Van Van Eyck’s Man in a Red Turban and Eleonora became a Halberdier. Charalabos transformed into Picasso, Alex was The Boy with a Book, Anthia transformed into Hermione and Mary became Roald Dahl’s Matilda.  

Alexander said, "I recreated “The Son of Man” by Magritte Rene. I really like it because blue is the ocean and white is the cloud." Andrianos did a super job of Magritte’s painting too! 

IGCSEs

These exams are organised by Cambridge International, who have issued a statement that these exams will proceed as planned in May/June 2020 in any of the schools across 160 countries conducting Cambridge IGCSEs – so long as the schools are allowed to open. If schools cannot open it is not yet clear what will happen.

AS & A-LEVELS

Our AS and A-Levels are conducted by three examining bodies – Cambridge, Edexcel Pearson International (International AS/A-Levels) and Edexcel Pearson (who conduct “British” AS/A-Levels).

Cambridge AS/A-Levels – these go ahead as planned so long as the school in question can be open to conduct examinations. If schools cannot open it is not yet clear what will happen. The AS/A-Level subjects in this category are Art & Design; Geography; and Literature.

Edexcel Pearson International – these go ahead as planned so long as the school in question can be open to operate the exams. If the school is unable to open, grades will be awarded to those who have been entered for exams. How grades will be determined is yet to be decided. The AS/A-Level subjects in this category are Mathematics; Further Mathematics; Biology; Chemistry; Physics; Economics; Greek; AS-Level French.

Edexcel Pearson (“British” AS/A-Levels) – these have been cancelled, barring any change of decision from the UK authorities. Grades will be awarded but no decision on how that will happen has yet been released. The AS/A-Level subjects in this category are History; Politics; Chinese; Russian and French (but not AS-Level French).

Advance oral exams and advance Art exams – some exam qualifications require an advance component to take place. These include languages where an oral examination is conducted, and Art & Design where an earlier exam is scheduled. These instances occur at both IGCSE and AS/A-Level. In these cases we are awaiting a definitive decision about whether time frames can be extended, or whether the advance component will occur at all.

That is where we stand currently, as of Friday 20^th March. The situation may well change rapidly and the school is in almost hourly contact with exam bodies. The exam bodies themselves are in a state of flux as they wrestle with a sudden and new scenario. Even so, they understand their responsibility to pupils and schools. We are also in touch with other British schools facing the same scenario and we are seeking guidance from COBIS – the premier organisation of British schools around the world. Furthermore, we will be investigating any possibility of the school opening exclusively for examinations if the school as a whole in its regular form is ordered to be closed at the time of examinations.

In short, we are doing all in our power to get answers to all the questions relating to examinations while planning for an array of possible scenarios as well.

Our pupils in Years 11-13 who are scheduled to take examinations are advised: 

1. Focus on your study. Let the school do all the worrying, investigation and planning around this disrupted examination (and school) period.
2. Rest assured that however the coming weeks and months unfold, and whatever happens, the interests of you, our pupils, will be safeguarded as our top and guiding priority at all times. We will demand and ensure with all our power that pupils facing public examination assessment will be treated as fairly as possible and all this disruption that you have suffered will be taken fully into account.

Dr. Chloe Paidoussis Mitchell, a chartered psychologist, has written an excellent article entitled ‘How to cope with Covid-19 stress: 9 Mental Health tips’ to share what you can do at this very stressful time to maintain and boost your mental wellbeing. Dr Paidoussis Mitchell was both a student and parent at St. Lawrence College. She will be posting regularly on her social media channels, for those who would like to sign up, free mental health advice to help us cope with anxiety, stress and the psychological impact of all this disruption on our families and ourselves.

For the full article, please click here