Our annual Year 6 Milias Camps residential trips were hugely enjoyable experiences for our Year 6 leavers this June. The teachers and children set off to the foot of Mount Parnassos for a three-day adventure in the fresh mountain air. They settled into comfy cabins and were taken on excursions including exhilarating river trekking and hiking. The children particularly loved pool time and many learned archery and practised new climbing skills under the watchful eye of experienced coaches Georgie and Carolina. They cycled around the locality with Ion and Manolis and those less confident on two wheels were even given cycling lessons – core memories of camp! 

Throughout the academic year, senior school pupils studying Physics in Years 10 to 13 were offered the opportunity to participate in British Physics Olympiad competitions. Several pupils in each year group embraced the challenge and some of them won outstanding awards, placing themselves among the top physicists of their age in the world. These competitions go beyond the public examinations system, and even marks that seemed low are to be celebrated as pupils were enabled to grasp new ideas and deepen their own thinking in the subject, stretching themselves to their limits and extending their skills and understanding in the process. Hopefully, they relished these challenges and will continue to participate in the respective competitions of the following years.

Below is a list of all the awards won per competition. We are proud of you, congratulations!

Junior Physics Challenge for Year 10 (14/05/2024)

5 x Gold awards

3 x Silver awards

3 x Bronze awards

Intermediate Physics Challenge for Year 11 (26/03/2024)

1 x Gold award

4 x Silver awards

8 x Bronze I awards

6 x Bronze II awards

Senior Physics Challenge for Year 12 (11/03/2024)

4 x Silver awards

3 x Bronze I awards

1 x Bronze II award

Physics Challenge for Year 13 (27/10/2023)

4 x Participation certificates

BPhO Round 1 for Year 13 (13/11/2023)

2 x Bronze I awards

1 x Bronze II award

Special shout out to:

• Shangzheng, George, Giannis, Marios and Zhu for achieving a Gold award in the Junior Physics Challenge, awarded only to the top 15.9% out of roughly 14,141 contestants from 280 British and British International schools!
• Athanasios for achieving a Gold award in the Intermediate Physics Challenge, awarded only to the top 8.6% out of roughly 6,000 contestants from 381 British and British International schools!

On Wednesday 29th May and Friday 31st May, the Senior School swimming galas were held for KS3 pupils. The children were in high spirits and their energy levels were clearly at their peak! Every last one of our swimmers gave it their all and enjoyed two fantastic days of competition in the pool.  

In exciting news, a year 8 pupil set a new school record in the 25m breaststroke with an impressive time of 18.37 seconds, breaking the previous record of 18.67 seconds that had stood since 2019. Congratulations to her!

In the house points competition, Macedonia collected 400 points, Attica earned 550 points, and Epirus topped the leaderboard with 600 points. Well done to all the swimmers!
 

On Monday 27th May at the Efilena Estate, St Lawrence Music School hosted a wonderful evening of music played by our pupils in both the Junior and Senior schools. Children exhibited their learning and achievements on the piano, the violin and the guitar. Beautiful singing was also a part of the evening that captured the audience's attention so delightfully. 

Guests thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful pieces that were played by our talented and diligent pupils, many of whom practise for several hours every day to reach the standards where they can perform concert worthy pieces including Presto by Giovanni Pescetti, The Mystery Sonatas by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Vivaldi's Violin Concerto, Ludwig Mozart's Menuetto and Tchaikovsky's June from the Four Seasons. 

Congratulations to each and every performer!

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!

Cyrano de Bergerac, a soldier in the French Army, is a gifted poet who unfortunately has an obnoxiously large nose. He has endless unrequited love for his distant cousin, the beautiful Roxanne, but he believes his ugliness bars him from the "dream of being loved by even an ugly woman." Roxanne loves Christian de Neuvillette, who is unable to romance her, so Cyrano writes love letters to Roxanne and woos her whilst pretending to be Christian. 

The senior school drama club put on a wonderful performance of this tragic comedy with real gusto, under the directorship of our new drama teacher Ms Marianthi Kiriou. The play was performed on a warm May evening in the amphitheatre under a full moon rising. The cast was made up of young pupils in the senior school from KS3, and we were impressed by their abilities. Families, friends and staff gave them all a well-deserved standing ovation!

Congratulations to them all!

In May this term, we were very lucky indeed to be visited by the Vari Fire station crew who taught many of our young children about fire safety at home. The children from our Early Years FS1 & FS2 classes, Reception and Years 1 and 2 were shown how to evacuate a smoky space. They learned the phone number – 112 – to call in an emergency. They learned about the danger of matches, electrical appliances and they even got to wear a hardhat and hold onto a water hose from a fire truck and work with a real-life fire fighter!

On the 16th and 20th of May, pupils from the senior school tennis team participated in tournaments hosted by ACS. With over 40 players competing, our pupils excelled, securing spots on the podium.

In the girls U18 tournament, Maria Muratova achieved an outstanding 1st place finish! In the girls U14 tournament, Vera Muratova and Callista Mikaelian showcased their skills, finishing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Congratulations to all the participants for their hard work and dedication!
 

On 21st May 2024, St. Lawrence College organised a charity event in aid of Salvia, the Greek Association of Burn Survivors.
The sponsored walk took place on our school grounds, transforming a typical day into one of compassion and unity. The event was more than just a walk; it demonstrated the incredible spirit of our school community coming together with the shared purpose of supporting an important and worthy cause.

We thank Salvia for all the important information we have been able to share with our pupils through our PSHE lessons on fire and burn prevention.

A special thank you goes to Zagori and Mr. Chitos for their kind donation of water for the event, keeping us all hydrated as we walked.

We also extend our thanks to the British Embassy for their assistance in translating and printing informative leaflets on burns, burn treatment and burn survivors rehabilitation.
 

We are thrilled to announce that our school was proudly represented by pupils from Years 4, 5, and 9 at this year’s No Finish Line event held at OAKA on Thursday, May 16th, and Friday, May 17th.
A total of 223 of our pupils and teachers participated with immense joy and enthusiasm, contributing to the biggest charity run for children in need. Our school's dedication and spirit were truly remarkable.
Our school finished in 5th place out of 24 participating schools and 12th out of 112 teams, accumulating an incredible total of 1,733 kilometres.
A huge congratulations and well done to everyone who came and gave it their all during this event! Your hard work and commitment have made a significant impact.
 

Congratulations to our International Award Bronze team for successfully completing their final expedition last weekend, marking the end of their IA programme. The Year 10 pupils embarked on a two-day hike on the island of Kea for two days, culminating in a refreshing swim at Pisses beach, where they also camped for a night, cooked their own meals and bonded under the starry sky.
Throughout the IA programme the pupils demonstrated resilience, stretching their comfort zone and trying new things. We hope that the skills and experiences gained from this programme will benefit them in their future endeavours. We are proud of their achievements and the personal growth each student has shown. Well done to everyone!
 

On Friday 12th April our Year 9 pupils began their journey to Mount Parnassos eager for the adventure that awaited them.

Upon arriving in the region of Amfissa, we were warmly greeted by the climbing experts of Trekking Hellas. With their guidance, we embarked on a scenic hike to reach the climbing area of "Portes." After a refreshing picnic, our guides wasted no time in imparting the fundamental rules and techniques of climbing, which we eagerly put into practice on the natural rock walls. With ten different climbing routes of varying difficulty set up by the Trekking Hellas team, every participant found their perfect challenge.

The following day we returned to the climbing area for another day of adventure. Under the watchful eye of our guides, we developed our climbing skills even more, pushing ourselves to new heights with each ascent.

As we bid farewell to Delphi Valley and embarked on our journey back to Athens, we couldn't help but reflect on the memories created during our time together. Our adventure in Mount Parnassos was more than just a physical achievement; it was a testament to the spirit of exploration and bonded us as a group. As we eagerly anticipate our next escapade, we carry with us the memories of cliffs conquered and friendships strengthened!

On the last day of the Spring term, the pupils of the junior school participated in our annual Easter bonnet Parade. It was a delightful exhibition of creativity and togetherness which was thoroughly enjoyed by all the children and staff. 

A chocolate Easter egg was the much sought after prize to the best hat in each year group, although it was a difficult decision for the judges!

Congratulations to all who took part in this traditional celebration!

On 24th and 25th April, our youngest pupils in Early Years and Reception classes had tremendous fun in their presentation days for families and friends. The children demonstrated a wide variety of exercises which they had prepared for this term in their action packed PE lessons. 

Additionally, these Early Years children dazzled the audience with a sweet dance choreography crafted by Ms. Katsogianni. The whole event was a delightful celebration of their progress and their commitment to staying active and healthy!

Thank you to all the parents who joined us and supported their children.

During the spring term, the Years 4, 5, and 6 Charity Ninjas embarked on the ‘Freerice Group Challenge’, a trivia game with a humanitarian twist. Armed with tablets and determination, pupils competed to answer questions, earning 10 grains of rice for each correct response to support the United Nations' World Food Programme. After four weeks of spirited competition, the Year 4 team emerged victorious, donating an impressive 60,670 grains of rice. Their success highlights their commitment to global citizenship and making a meaningful impact on the world. Congratulations once again to our Charity Ninjas for their outstanding achievement!