St. Lawrence College hosted the “Galinos Karakostas” Chess Festival 2025 on Monday 7th April in the indoor gym. Pupils from both the senior and junior schools took part in this festival along with two schools from the neighbouring area, Geitonas and Kessaris. The festival was a friendly event with children relishing the chance to display their budding chess skills to a new set of opponents. 

Well done to all participants!

Our boys’ and Over- girls’ 16 football teams travelled to Thessaloniki from 4–7 December to take part in the Aegean Tournament, hosted by Anatolia College.

Many schools from across Greece competed in the tournament. While neither team advanced to the semi-finals this year, both performed very well, losing only one game each throughout the competition.

Our footballers gave their all on the pitch and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, creating memories that will last a lifetime. We are extremely proud of the way they represented the school, both on and off the field.

A big thank you to the coaches Mr Strzemiecki and Mr Styliatis for training and accompanying our teams on this fantastic school trip.

Every summer, for one month St. Lawrence College runs a highly successful, 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 an action-packed and enjoyable course of activities for your children from Monday 23^rd June to Friday 18^th July.

Summer at St. Lawrence gives children the opportunity to meet and interact with other young people from all over the world. They do so as they enjoy a wide range of lessons, activities, events and trips in the warmth of the Athens summer sunshine. Our environment is spacious, safe and well-equipped. It provides a sense of belonging while enabling children to learn and enjoy all that is on offer.

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 23^rd 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 +302108917000

Exam Results Success for St. Lawrence College Pupils

Through May and June 2025 pupils from our Years 11, 12 and 13 took their IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Level exams. A grand total of 226 pupils sat for 1138 qualifications made up of around 3000 individual exam papers! Results began to emerge last week and today we see the release of the final grades to be issued (Greek GCSE).

The simple story is our pupils did us proud once again! The proportions of all kinds of qualifications hitting top grades maintained our outstanding standards from previous years and remain well above UK national averages. And there are plenty of individual success stories as well – read on for a full analysis!

Year 11 and IGCSE/ GCSE

91 pupils in Year 11 sat for 695 IGCSE qualifications in May and June 2025. Their results maintain the high standards set by cohorts of previous years at our school. The key measurements are what proportion resulted in A*/A grade, and what proportion scored A*-C (with C grade or better being considered a ‘pass’). This year’s A*/A rate of 46% showed nearly half of all IGCSEs and GCSEs taken resulted in in a top grade. This proportion was slightly down on 2024’s 49% and yet up on 2023’s 42%. The A*-C proportion of 91% this year beat both 2024 (86%) and 2023 (80%). 

Individual outstanding performances from pupils included Koralia Datsiou (9A*), George Anastassiou (8A*1A) and Adrian Delaportas, Antigoni Giannakopoulou, Hailey Hyeyoon Jun and Tina Liras each of whom attained 7A* among their qualifications.

Year 12 and AS-Levels

In May and June, a total of 243 AS-Level qualifications were sat for by 72 Year 12 pupils. Once again, the standards were very high, well above UK national averages and typical of the high benchmarks our cohorts consistently set year after year. The most frequently awarded grade was A (there is no A* at AS-Level) with 37% of all AS-Levels scoring that top grade. This was a little lower than the 2024 proportion, but higher than 2023. The proportion of AS-Levels scoring at least a C grade was the highest in the last three years at 78%.

Stand out performances included George Tzoutzourakis (AAAAA), Mohamed Abdel Fattah, Athina Christoforou, Yiyi Liu, Zhuoxuan Ying and Xuefei Zhang (each attained AAAA), Alexandra Mavromichalis (AAABB), and Athanasios Argyros, Varvara Biziouk, SofiaTzagaraki-Kaseta and Jiayu Zhu (who each attained AAAB).

Year 13 and A-Levels

63 pupils sat for their final A-Level exams back in June and with the results they have gained the next stage in their educational journey commences. These 63 pupils sat exactly 200 A-Level qualifications, and their A-Level results this year were well in line with those of recent years, and consistently above UK national averages in terms of grade distributions. Just under half (46%) of all A-Levels sat resulted in an A* or A, with A being by far the most common grade awarded across all A-Levels. This is the highest proportion of A*/A in the last three years. Furthermore, an extraordinary 88% scored at least a C grade – which is the highest in the last four years. Indeed, all A-Levels in Further Mathematics, Literature, French, Greek, History and Politics resulted in at least a C. 

Pupils whose performances stood out included Alexandra Kefallonitis and Jiachen Lin who both scored A*A*A*, Guoguo Chen (A*A*A), Andres Van Meek (A*A*AA), Xinyi Hu (A*A*AC), Theodora Farmakidi, Despoina Salachas and Konstantinos Zafeirakis who each attained A*AAA, Yifei Wang (A*AAB), and Saiied Matin Musavi and Alexandros Kotsatos (A*AA).

On to university!

Our school leavers are progressing to an impressive range of universities around the world now, to study hugely diverse degree courses. The most popular destination remains the UK, with around half our graduates, choosing universities across the United Kingdom. These include Imperial College, University College London (UCL), King’s College London, University for the Creative Arts, Bath, Warwick, Edinburgh, Bristol, Stirling, and Southampton as a representative selection. Other school leavers are progressing to universities in the USA, China, Canada, Australia, and across Europe in Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Cyprus, France, Spain, Germany and Hungary, while a small number will remain in Greece. Courses they will study include Medicine, Law, Mechanical Engineering, Graphic Design, History & Archaeology, Mathematics, Psychology, Fashion Business & Management, Maritime Engineering, Chemistry, Interior Design and the Fine Arts. We wish them all every success!

Comparing our school results to the UK averages

Our school’s results are consistently above those of the UK in recent years. While some might expect this from a fee-paying school, the pupils at St. Lawrence College could be claimed to be at an additional challenge in that so many of our cohort are working in second or even third languages as they attempt UK exams such as IGCSE and A-Levels. Add to this that we are completely inclusive and non-selective. This means that there is no academic entrance exam to our school and, on the whole, all pupils are entered for all exams in their subjects. Thus, it becomes very clear we can be extremely proud of our pupils’ collective performance and can warmly commend our school staff for their effective teaching.  

IGCSE/GCSE A*-A proportions

2023: UK 26.4%, SLC 42%

2024: UK 22.6%, SLC 49%

2025: UK 23.0%, SLC 46%

IGCSE/GCSE A*-C proportions

2023: UK 67.8%, SLC 80%

2024: UK 67.4%, SLC 86%

2025: UK 70.6%, SLC 91%

A-Level A*-A proportions

2023: UK 27.2%, SLC 46%

2024: UK 27.8%, SLC 40%

2025: UK 28.3%, SLC 45%

A-Level A*-C proportions

2023: UK 76.0%, SLC 81%

2024: UK 76.4%, SLC 77%

2025: UK 77.8%, SLC 88%

School reaction

Headmaster Phil Holden commented “I am delighted that the hard work, dedication, and commitment of so many of our pupils has been rewarded with these strong results. It is a testament to their diligence and effort, but also to the wonderful professionalism of our teachers throughout the school who have supported our pupils in their learning and their exam preparation. I especially congratulate those pupils leaving our school. As well as the high-quality study skills they have acquired, I hope they will also take happy memories with them wherever they are progressing to in the world!”

Our Charity Ninjas enjoyed a wonderful morning on Sunday, 16 November 2025, taking part in the third tree-planting event of the season organised by OLOI MAZI BOROUME (All Together We Can), in collaboration with the Municipality of Ilioupoli and with the participation of citizens, pupils, volunteer groups, and local organizations.

The activity took place on the western slopes of Mount Hymettus, near the Ilioupoli fire lookout station. Under beautiful weather, pupils, families, friends, and staff worked together to support reforestation and environmental recovery efforts across Greece.

Pupils enthusiastically planted saplings alongside their parents and teachers, gaining hands-on experience in environmental stewardship and enjoying a morning filled with teamwork and community spirit.

To continue the celebration, several families and staff gathered afterwards for a friendly lunch in Ilioupoli, rounding off a meaningful and memorable event.

A big thank-you to everyone who participated and helped make the day such a success. Our Charity Ninjas continue to show how small actions can make a big difference!

The Greek Department, in collaboration with the Head of Year 7, organised a successful educational trip to the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum for our Year 7 pupils, on 9th October 2025. 

As part of a multi-curricular experience, pupils explored the ancient citadel and learned about its rich history and architecture, including the iconic Parthenon. With the guidance of an English-speaking tour guides, pupils enjoyed breathtaking views over Athens and gained valuable insight into ancient Greek civilisation. The visit continued at the Acropolis Museum, where pupils had the opportunity to view artefacts from different historical periods and deepen their understanding of everyday life in ancient Athens. It was a memorable and enriching day for all involved.

 Experiencing history so vividly sparked curiosity, inspired thoughtful questions, and left our pupils with lasting impressions of Greece’s remarkable cultural heritage. It was a truly outstanding example of learning beyond the classroom.

On Saturday 14th June, St Lawrence College collaborated with the organisers of Robotakia School to host the 2025 Robotakia Festival. Over a thousand participants and guests joined us in the indoor gym for an afternoon of celebration of children’s creativity with technology. Pupils from the Robotics club at our school as well as many others from far and wide, took the time and made the effort to showcase their skills and explain their projects to the judges. Congratulations to all who took part in this wonderful event!

The 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships took place virtually in February and organised by Switzerland. The event attracted over 1600 athletes from 74 nations competing over four days of racing in three categories 2000m, 500m, and Relays. A valued member of staff here at St Lawrence, Eva Kuzmannova, competed in the women's lightweight category and came seventh place overall.

 Ms Kuzmannova spoke after the race, saying, “I would like to thank you for the support I receive from the school staff. St Lawrence is a big part of my success, as I feel very comfortable at work, and it helps me focus on race training.” 

Well done, we are proud of every community member’s success!

Over the last 3 days the annual swimming days and galas took place for years 1-6. Pupils came and impressed their parents with the skills they acquired throughout their swimming lessons this year.

In a day where participation was the most important aspect, we had an incredible turnout in every year group. Pupils happily participated in the event and enjoyed spending time in the pool in front of their parents.

We had multiple school records broken this year! In year 3, Lukas Papavasileiou managed to break an incredible two school records. In 25m freestyle Lukas achieved a time of 19.30s and broke the previous record which stood since 2016. Lukas also broke the 25m backstroke record which stood since 2022 with a time of 24.61s. In year 4, Anais Vasiliades broke the school record for 25m backstroke which stood since 2017 with a time of 21.33s. Finally, in year 6, Polytimi Giannakopoulou broke the school record in 25m breastroke which stood since 2004 with a time of 20.25s.

Pupils in year 1 and 2 were delighted to receive medals for participating in their swimming days. Well done to all those who participated and competed in an event which brought a lot of joy to pupils. A special thank you to the parents who came and supported their children through extreme sunshine all the way to tropical rainfall!

ACADEMIC YEAR 2025– 2026 CALENDAR

AUTUMN TERM

Monday 1st September ** Teachers return for in-school training and pre-term preparation
Friday 5th September ** Early Years & Junior School orientation meetings
MONDAY 8th SEPTEMBER ** Autumn Term begins
Mon 27th Oct - Fri 31st October ** Half –Term Break
FRIDAY 19th DECEMBER ** Last Day of Term 

SPRING TERM

WEDNESDAY 7th JANUARY ** Spring Term begins
Mon 23rd - Fri 27th February ** Half –Term break
Wed 25th March ** Greek National Holiday
FRIDAY 3rd APRIL ** Last Day of Term

SUMMER TERM

MONDAY 20th APRIL ** Summer Term begins
FRIDAY 1st MAY ** Labour Day
MONDAY 1st June ** Whit Monday
FRIDAY 19th JUNE ** ANNUAL AWARD CEREMONY
MONDAY 22nd JUNE ** Summer School begins

SCHOOL RE-OPENS         Monday 7th SEPTEMBER 2026

Please note that in the course of a year unexpected circumstances may arise and cause the Greek authorities to issue directives which all schools must be in compliance with. For that reason all dates on this calendar are subject to potential change. Parents will always be informed of any adjustment to the calendar.
If either General or Local Elections are held during the academic year, this will necessitate the closure of the schools on the Friday before and the Monday after election day.