Key Stage 2 is for children aged 7 to 11, covering Years 3 to 6. At St. Lawrence College, this stage typically has a three- or four-form entry, with class sizes of up to 24 pupils, allowing for individualised attention and meaningful teacher-pupil interaction.

Teaching is delivered through a unified curriculum that blends the Cambridge Primary Programme for core subjects with the National Curriculum for England in the foundation subjects. This broad and balanced curriculum includes History, Geography, Computing, Art and Design, Physical Education, Music, and Greek, and is structured to ensure smooth, progressive learning both within and across year groups.

As pupils progress through Key Stage 2, the curriculum naturally broadens to reflect their growing cognitive and academic development. Greek continues to be taught across the key stage, and native speakers have the opportunity to follow a Greek Language History course.

the curriculum naturally broadens to reflect their growing cognitive and academic development

A strong emphasis is placed on ongoing formative assessment to identify each child’s needs and sustain learning momentum. Strategies such as metacognitive questioning encourage pupils to reflect on their thinking. Termly summative assessments in the core curriculum enable the effective tracking of pupil progress and achievement, supporting targeted teaching and academic planning. These are complemented by weekly spelling and times tables quizzes.

In Year 6, pupils take the end-of-year attainment tests in English, Mathematics, and Science during May. Ample support and preparation ensure each pupil approaches these assessments with confidence and readiness.

Reading plays a central role across the key stage. In lower Key Stage 2, reading is closely monitored and pupils are given level-appropriate books to practise at home. Alongside this, guided reading sessions provide focused support to develop comprehension skills and reading confidence. As their fluency develops, reading becomes increasingly independent, guided by individual choice and teacher recommendations to foster a love of literature. To further nurture this enthusiasm, our Reading Challenges encourage pupils to explore a wide range of texts and celebrate their progress as growing readers.

High-quality novels are studied as part of the English curriculum, helping pupils develop comprehension skills, broaden their vocabulary, and build confidence in reading through structured class discussion and analysis.

Pupils learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) are supported with a tailored approach. While integration into mainstream lessons is based on individual readiness, EAL pupils are included in subjects such as Physical Education and Art from the outset to promote confidence and connection.

By the end of Year 6, pupils are fully prepared for the transition to secondary education. They leave Key Stage 2 as confident readers, competent mathematicians, curious scientists, and reflective learners — equipped with the resilience and academic foundation needed for success in the next stage of their education.

May and June 2022 saw the return of public exams for our school’s eldest pupils. These were the first public exams to be held since 2019 as a consequence of the global pandemic. This year’s A-Level and AS-Level results have now been released and the results achieved by the Year 12 and Year13 pupils of our school are truly remarkable!

A-Levels

At full A-Level, which marks the final qualifications a pupil takes in a British school, 52 candidates took 170 A-Levels. This was a greater number of A-Level pupils and entries than ever before at our school. The standard of the grades achieved would be considered outstanding in any year. But when it is noted that because of the covid pandemic, these pupils had never taken public exams before (all exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021) and that these pupils experienced disruption over the last two years through all manner of covid-related impacts and restrictions in school, their results can only be considered as brilliant.

Of all the A-Levels taken, 22% resulted in in A* grade and 54% in an A or A* grade. This was markedly up on the 20% and 51% respectively from 2019, which was the last time exams were held. Furthermore, an astonishing three out of every four (75%) of all A-Levels taken resulted in a grade in the A*/A/B range.

A number of exceptional performances stand out. These include Lin Ning Huang (3A*1A), Ioannis Kontomihos, Katrina Lemane and Danyl Tsaran (3A*), Athanasios Kapoutsis, Leda Persidi and Zoe Raptis (2A*2A), Isabella Karaiossifidi and Nikolaos Zairis (1A*3A) and Marina Vassiliadis (4A).

And on to higher education!

Our school leavers are heading off to universities both in the UK and elsewhere in the world. UK destinations include UCL, Lancaster, Sussex, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Surrey and many other locations, while other school leavers have chosen universities in France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the USA for their higher education. Our school leavers will study a wide range of subjects, including Medicine, Politics Philosophy and Economics (PPE), Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, History, Applied Mathematics, Psychology, International Hospitality Management, Computer Science.

AS-Levels

At AS-Level, a whopping 85 pupils took 282 exams, which is comfortably the largest number of AS-Level candidates in a single exam session in the history of our school. As with those pupils who sat A-Levels, these pupils had never taken any public exams before as a consequence of the pandemic and also had experienced disruptions and restrictions through their recent education. Nevertheless, the collective performance of this large group was truly impressive and well up on the most recent AS-Level exams from 2019. This year’s cohort of pupils managed an A grade in 53% of all AS-Levels, compared to 41% in 2019. Likewise, this year an extraordinary 81% of all AS-Levels resulted in a grade in the A-C range (2019: 73%)

There were 16 pupils who scored four A grades, and standing out among those top performances were Nikolaos Synodinos with five A grades and Leandros Mandilaris with four A grades plus one B.

IGCSE

Pupils in Year 11 who sat their IGCSEs also have all their results now – well, nearly. They are still waiting for their GCSE Greek results which, being a different qualification from the IGCSEs, sees grades being released one week later. A full analysis of these results will appear in due course once the Greek results are known, but already it is clear that our Year 11 pupils have done very well indeed.

Reaction from the Headmaster

St. Lawrence College’s Headmaster, Phil Holden, commented “All these pupils have been through so much in recent years through no fault of their own. They have worked through lockdowns, online lessons, periods of having to self-isolate and quarantine, and restrictions in school in the classrooms, playgrounds, and extracurricular activities. It isn’t easy to wear a mask all the time in school, and to learn from teachers who are also wearing masks. What is more, it has been well-publicised in the British media that A-Level grades are down this year globally. Given all that, what a fantastic achievement it has been to see our pupils do so well at A-Level and AS-Level. I congratulate them, am immensely proud of them, and wish those who are leaving us the very best of luck. Likewise, I thank all the teachers and staff of the school who have worked so brilliantly and who have made it possible for our pupils to reach these dizzying standards. We are fortunate to have such a wonderful staff and I am in awe of their achievement through what has been such a challenging period of time for many reasons”.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2)

At Key Stage 1, newly arrived pupils with little or no prior experience of English join their mainstream class straight away. They are quickly integrated into daily classroom life and exposed to English in a natural and supportive setting. Class teachers, working closely with teaching assistants, create an inclusive learning environment and adapt the curriculum using strategies specifically designed to support language development.

Young children are encouraged to interact and build friendships through structured group activities and games. These activities often involve classmates who are fluent English speakers and serve as positive role models for language use.

In addition to support within the classroom, targeted intervention sessions are provided for small groups of pupils who require more focused language development. These sessions are designed to boost key English skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and are delivered in a supportive environment to build confidence and communication.

they can grow in confidence and strive for their full potential.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3, 4, 5 & 6)

In Key Stage 2, pupils who have limited or no English may begin in a dedicated language support class, where they follow an intensive English programme. This support is designed to help them develop the level of academic English needed to access the full curriculum in their mainstream class.

Before joining the programme, parents are invited to a meeting to share important information about the pupil’s language background and previous education. If required, the pupil’s English level is assessed to identify their individual learning needs and determine the most suitable type of support. Full details of this process are outlined in the school's EAL policy, which explains how pupils are gradually integrated over their first months at St Lawrence College.

EAL groups are offered for both Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3–4) and Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5–6). These may take the form of either a full-time intensive programme or targeted sessions focused on developing skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Activities are closely linked to the wider curriculum, ensuring that pupils are well prepared for their transition into the mainstream classroom.

EAL pupils are encouraged to take part in mainstream lessons in subjects such as PE, art, music and computing from the start, regardless of their English proficiency. This allows them to mix with peers, develop social language and gain confidence in using English in different contexts.

As pupils become more confident and their English improves, they gradually join mainstream classes for other subjects such as maths and science. There is no fixed timetable for this transition, and no undue pressure is placed on the pupils.

In their second year at St Lawrence College, pupils who have joined mainstream classes but are still developing their English skills may continue to receive some EAL support. In such cases, it may be considered appropriate for them not to take on an additional Modern Foreign Language (MFL) (e.g., French, Spanish), so they can focus fully on strengthening their English.

An EAL classrooms provide a nurturing, safe and encouraging environment. It aims to give every child a positive learning experience and a strong foundation from which they can grow in confidence and strive for their full potential.

An EAL teacher plays a key role in helping pupils become more independent and self-assured as they adjust to their new school and life in an English-speaking environment.

The wait for the 2017 exam results for IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Level pupils is over and once again the standard of achievement from SLC pupils has proven to be remarkable. 

IGCSEs
At IGCSE, 59 pupils took a total of 470 IGCSE examinations, and the results were outstanding. Of those 470 IGCSEs, precisely 235, which is exactly 50% of the total, resulted in either an A* or an A grade. This is super impressive – last year this measure was 44% of all IGCSEs. This year’s achievement of 50% of all IGCSEs receiving an A/A* grade was only bettered in one of the last five years of IGCSE examinations at our school. What is more, 27% of all IGCSEs resulted in an A* grade – making A* by far the most frequent grade among all the IGCSEs. 

A frequently employed measure among British schools is the proportion of candidates who scored five or more IGCSEs of grade C or better, with the national UK average hovering around 55% each year in the UK. For St. Lawrence College IGCSE candidates this year, 91% managed to secure at least 5 IGCSEs of grade C or better. This is particularly pleasing given that for a significant number of our pupils, English is not their first language. Many pupils did very well, collecting multiple A*s; but Anastasia Samaras deserves a special mention for her extraordinary haul of nine A*s and one A among her IGCSEs. Congratulations to her!

AS and A-Levels
At AS-Level and A-Level our Year 12 and 13 pupils took on many more exams compared to last year, with 89 pupils sitting for 316 AS and A-Levels. At both AS-Level and A-Level the most frequent grade awarded was A. Extra impressive was the number of A*s that were awarded at A-Level. A total of fourteen A*s were achieved by Year 13 pupils compared to six last year, with this year’s haul including four A*s in Biology alone, from a class of thirteen pupils. At AS-Level, where the highest achievable grade is A, around one in three of every AS-Level sat resulted in an A grade.

At AS-Level there were particularly exceptional performances from Alessandro Gressani who achieved straight A grades in his four AS-Levels (AAAA), Alex Petropoulos (AAAA), as well as Ivy Hewett (AAAAA) and Emily Holden (AAAAAA).
A-Level pupils are on their way to higher education, with the majority of our Year 13 students progressing to universities in the UK. Achilleas Papadimitriou’s achievement stood out. His astonishing four A*s plus one A (A*A*A*A*A) takes him to the University of Cambridge, where he will study Chemical Engineering. Other impressive performances included Tanya Malhas (A*A*A) who progresses to UCL for Pharmacology; Nathan Marks (A*A*AC) who will study Biochemistry at the University of Warwick and Rosie Vorri (A*AAA), on her way to the University of Durham to study Law. Other students are progressing to universities such as Bath, Essex, UWE Bristol, King’s College London, Sheffield, Sussex and Queen Mary London to study subjects as diverse as Economics, Film Studies, Languages and Culture, Business Management, Sport and Exercise Studies, Mechatronics and Robotic Engineering, Accounting and Finance and Computing Science. A full list of the universities and courses that our school leavers will attend will be posted at a later date but for now, congratulations to all those pupils who are on their way to university to study.

The anxious wait is over and those pupils who took public examinations at the end of the school year have got their results! Pupils who sat for IGCSEs, AS-Levels and A-Levels now know how they have fared in the exams they sat in May and June this year. And once again, 150 or so pupils have done themselves, their families, their teachers and our school proud. 

IGCSEs

Once again, the pupils’ results demonstrate an extremely high standard of achievement. In terms of proportion of exams that achieved a ‘C’ grade or better, the IGCSE results were the best over the last five years. 90% of all IGCSEs taken resulted in A*-C grades. That beats the 89% (2017), 88% (2016), 86% (2015) and 83% (2014) in recent years. In terms of what proportion of the IGCSEs taken were A*/A grades, this year we achieved 45%. Not as high as last year’s 50% but just above 2016’s 44%.

Stand out performances included Ioanna Moirasgenti, who took nine IGCSEs and achieved 9A*s. Likewise, Dimitris Monokandilos and Alexandros-Gazi Bsarat both excelled with seven A* IGCSEs each.

AS-Levels

AS-Level marks the halfway point in the two-year A-Level programme. This year, a grand total of 184 AS-Level entries were made across 14 subjects. The highest possible grade is ‘A’ as ‘A*’ does not exist at AS-Level. This year, 40% of all AS-Level exams resulted in an ‘A’ grade. That is the best proportion of ‘A’ grades for some time (2017 – 29%; 2016 – 39%) and reflects the high standards achieved by pupils in Year 12 this year. Truly excellent exam results from individual pupils included those by Efstratios Chatzieleftheriou, who achieved an ‘A’ grade in six AS-Level subjects, while Maria Avrantinis, Li Dan, Konstantinos Kapoutsis and Isabella Kontogiannis all scored four ‘A’ grades each across their AS-Level exams.

A-Levels

At A-Level, there were 135 exam entries. The highest grade that can be achieved at A-Level is A*. These are extraordinarily difficult to attain, as a mark of over 90% has to be scored exclusively on the work covered in the exams of the second (and more difficult) A-Level year. The 2018 exam session saw a greater ratio of A*s than in either of our last two years of exams. Thus, while in 2016 A*s were 6% of all A-Levels taken, and in 2017, A*s were 11%, this year A*s made up 13% of all A-Levels taken. A fine reflection on the quality of work by the pupils – and the quality of teaching by teachers!

Furthermore, a remarkable 80% of all A-Levels resulted in “C grade or better”. Among the very notable performances at A-Level were Ivy Hewett (4A* & 1A), Emily Holden (2A* & 2A), Alessandro Gressani (2A* & 2A) and Alexander Petropoulos (2A* & 2A). Absolutely brilliant!

St. Lawrence College A-Level school leavers are now progressing to higher education institutions. For most, this will be to UK universities, including UCL, Warwick, Edinburgh, Queen Mary, Sussex, UEA Norwich, Newcastle, Essex and many others. Some pupils will start their higher education outside the UK, including in the USA, Australia, Holland, Switzerland among other destinations.

Our pupils will be studying for degrees in disciplines as diverse as Medicine, Law, Development Economics, Mathematics, Modern Languages & Business, Human Nutrition, Communication and Media Studies, Zoology, Psychology, Aerospace Engineering and Biomedical Sciences to name just some!

St. Lawrence College Headmaster Mr Phil Holden was understandably very happy with the school’s results, commenting “What wonderful results! As a head – and as a parent – I am so delighted and proud of all these achievements. I also want to congratulate and thank the teachers throughout the school who have contributed to the achievement of these pupils. I hope that these wonderful results will serve as an example and an inspiration to the younger pupils of St. Lawrence College, showing them what can be achieved through hard work and consistent effort”.

The assessment of pupils takes two main forms: formative and summative.

Formative assessment takes place daily. It allows teachers to monitor children’s progress across all subjects and ensures they receive the feedback they need to move forward in their learning. Teachers continually assess understanding in order to adapt planning and meet the needs of every child in each lesson. This ongoing process also informs longer-term planning, ensuring that every pupil is supported to make sustained progress.

adapt planning and meet the needs of every child 

Summative assessment provides a snapshot of performance and usually takes place at the end of a unit, term, or academic year. At St. Lawrence College, we combine information from standardised testing systems with teacher judgements based on classroom observations to ensure accuracy and reliability. Class teachers carry out regular assessment of academic achievement, with differentiation applied at every stage to meet individual needs.

Cambridge Early Years and Primary Insight Assessments

In the Early Years, two baseline assessments give teachers a snapshot of where children are in their learning when they begin school or nursery: ASPECTS (for 3–4-year-olds) and BASE (for 4–5-year-olds), both developed by Cambridge Insight. These provide valuable information about each child’s starting point.

From Year 1 onwards, pupils take part in Cambridge Primary Insight (for ages 5–11), a broad range of digital, adaptive, formative assessments from Cambridge Insight. These are used for diagnostic purposes and to track pupil progress effectively over time.

In Key Stage 2, assessment is supplemented by in-house subject reviews, and in Year 6, pupils undertake end-of-year attainment testing based on the Cambridge Primary curriculum. These tests measure pupils’ knowledge, understanding, and skills in the core subjects of English, Mathematics, and Science.