Higher education for the website

1. Where our children go
2. Getting there – guidance, advice
3. UK Higher education
4. US universities
5. Other destinations
6. Proud of our record, but never complacent

Overview

1. It is the expectation that all children who complete their schooling at St. Lawrence College will progress to higher education
2. About 80% of pupils who graduate from SLC go to UK universities. About 10% go to universities and colleges in the USA. About 10% are “other” either staying in Greece or following higher education at universities in countries as diverse as Canada, Australia, South Africa, Holland, Ireland, South Korea
3. Pupils receive guidance and counselling at every step of the process – in group presentations and meetings and on one-to-one basis.
4. Our university guidance counsellors have immense experience to help pupils arrive at the right choices and gain access to the best higher education institutions for them.

How do pupils enter university and how does the school support them?

1. A-Levels – being globally recognised as the traditional school-leaving qualification from British education, can take a child anywhere in the world for their higher education. Most of our pupils choose to progress to UK universities and higher education institutes
2. Initial discussions with pupils begins in the first year of A-Levels, shortly after pupils start the A-Level courses. Initial discussions are held with form tutors
3. Applicants for UK universities are given guidance through the completion of the UCAS application system, including meetings and handouts. University counsellors track the progress of pupils during the process of completing all stages of UCAS applications, advising pupils on their progress
4. Extra support is given in the preparation of the personal statement – a critical component of the UCAS application
5. University application advisers prepare detailed, sympathetic references for pupils, tailor-made to illustrate the strengths and suitability of that child in the context of their educational journey thus far.
6. Applicants are given full support on all subsequent communication with higher education institutions which can include sitting for aptitude tests, travelling for interviews, submission of portfolio work and more.
7. Mock interviews are arranged for Oxbridge applicants and for pupils who have applied for Medicine and Veterinary Science
8. Applicants for the USA are given support from a dedicated team of advisors for US universities
9. US applicants are given support whether their selected universities subscribe to the Common Application System or require a unique direct application.
10. US applicants are supported through the completion of SAT or ACT examinations and are provided with appropriate transcript documentation and key points during the final school year.
11. SLC has developed and maintains close relationships with a variety of higher institutions in the UK, the USA, in Greece and beyond.
12. SLC selects with care and invites representatives of top universities to come into school and talk to pupils about higher education.
13. SLC monitors a vibrant, lively facebook group of ex-pupils who interact with current pupils in the process of applying to higher education to offer advice, tell of their own experiences and to answer questions.

Where have SLC children progressed to?

1. UK university placements over last ten years: 

2. In last two years we have sent pupils to study at a wide range of UK universities, including the following universities:Cambridge, Oxford, Bath, Leeds, Queen Mary London, LSE Reading Manchester Edinburgh, Birmingham, King’s College London, Imperial College London, Durham, Warwick, York, Lancaster and Bristol.
3. Beyond the UK: USA: Brown, NYU, Columbia, UCLA Berkeley, Boston University, University of Miami, UMass Amherst, Worldwide: Concordia (Canada), University of Toronto (Canada), University of Oslo (Norway), Melbourne (Australia), Bocconi University, Milan (Italy), Erasmus Univeristy, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

What do they study?

The A-Levels that pupils take at SLC can give access to undergraduate studies in any field. In just the last two years, pupils have left our school and begun degree courses in subjects a s diverse as

Medicine, French, Linguistics, Sociology, Government & Politics, Natural Sciences, Accounting & Finance, Law, Animation, International Relations, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Art, History, English Literature, Creative Writing, Film & Television Production, Biochemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Genetics, Nanotechnology, Economics

(Closing statement) SLC is proud of our pupils’ success and proud of our record in helping our pupils access many of the very best universities in the world. But we are not complacent. We recognise that receiving the right university studies at globally recognised institutions has never been more important, and has never been more competitive. We intend to build upon our success by remaining completely aware of changes to the demands made by universities. By continuing to develop the expertise of our university application advisory team and by developing our relationships with universities themselves and with organisations such as UCAS in order to give our school leavers the best chance to succeed.

Public Exam Success – 4th best exam results over last 10 years

Summer 2015 results

IGCSEs –

• 59 candidates sat for a total of 506 IGCSE exams
• 53% of all IGCSEs taken resulted in A*/A grade
• 86% of all IGCSEs taken resulted in A*-C grade
• 98% of all IGCSEs taken resulted in A*-G grade

AS and A-Levels –

• 80 candidates sat for a total of 292 AS and A-Level qualifications
• 41% of all AS & A-Levels sat for resulted in an A*/A grade (A* is not available at AS-Level)
• This represents best rate of A*/A grades in last five years
• There were 20 A*s at A-Level – more than in any previous year
• More pupils got multiple A*s at A-Level than in any previous year
• 83% of all A-Levels were awarded a C grade or better

Greater detail is given in exam results video posted on this website within two weeks of the release of all results and also posted on SLC’s Facebook page

For videos from previous years click below

2015 – click here
2014 – click here
2013 – click here
2012 – click here

The St Lawrence College IGCSE Computer Science revision site. The site is aimed at year 10 and 11 pupils who have opted for Computer Science as an option and can be used to aid classwork, homework and revision.

Special Educational Needs & Disabilities/Learning Support in the Junior School

Here at St. Lawrence College, we aspire to promote inclusive education throughout the school and cater for the needs of each one of our students.

All our teachers are teachers of SEND, thus differentiation comprises an integral part of their teaching; this may involve multi-sensory and creative approaches, which facilitate an effective and productive learning environment.

We respect that every child is unique -we have pupils of varying skills and abilities, and it is essential that we identify their additional learning needs through observations or screening. Through this, we make sure that we are always aware of pupils who require additional support to achieve their potential and reach their goals.

we create individually tailored educational programmes to meet our pupils’ needs...

For some pupils, the additional support may be temporary, whilst others may require assistance on a more long-term basis, either through in-class support, one-to-one withdrawal or teaching in a small group. In each and every case, we create individually tailored educational programmes to meet our pupils’ needs where necessary.

We have a committed learning support team consisting of an experienced Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), a Learning Support Coordinator as well as experienced learning support assistants.

We aim to provide an environment that promotes self-confidence and personal success, by identifying children’s strengths and encouraging them to make the most of the areas they excel in. We work with them to build on key skills that give them access to the curriculum at the level they are able to reach. Our SEND policy outlines our code of practice here at SLC.

As always, we listen to parents, advise accordingly and act on their concerns. We also regularly liaise with external specialists in order to gain better understanding of our pupils’ needs

Ms. Giaouri’s Greek Department Blog.

This is the school’s Debate Club blog that contains information, links and training for the SLC debaters.
 

This the blog from the Library that contains a fascinating collection of creative writing and poetry from pupils of all grades as well as news of events and displays hosted by the school Library.

This is a YouTube channel containing many videos for Economics AS and A-Level pupils. There are a few videos on accounting for Business Studies IGCSE pupils as well.

This is also from the Geography Department that caters specifically for AS and A-Level pupils taking Geography.

This is the blog of the Geography Department. It is designed to provide pupils with useful materials and links to real world Geography issues in the news. This blog was voted as one of the best 20 schools’ Geography blogs on the internet in a recent British educational review.

This blog has been set up, again by the History Department, but this is for the exclusive use of AS and A-Level History pupils.

This is the History Department’s blog aimed for use for pupils from year 7 through to year 11. It contains useful articles, downloadable material and links for all pupils.

School lunches are an integral part of school life. Our own catering service prepares international-style food on site. The menus are regularly assessed by independent experts to ensure that our pupils enjoy nutritionally-balanced, healthy meals.

The menus are regularly updated to ensure that a fresh and healthy selection of food is available for the pupils. Vegetarians and children with special dietary requirements are also catered for.

In the Early Years and Junior School, the children’s lunchtime orders are dealt with on a daily basis at the start of the school day when registration is taken. At lunchtime, the children’s orders are sent to their classes.

In the senior school, a more informal arrangement stands whereby the pupils make their own arrangements for meal choices during either of the two breaks between sessions.

St. Lawrence College pupils do themselves and their school proud!

While summer continues for all pupils, for some the last week has been a week of tension and concern, waiting for their exam results. Now though the waiting is over and the IGCSE, AS-Level and A-Level results have been released. And once again, St. Lawrence College pupils have produced a set of results that our school community can be collectively proud of.

Our Year 11 pupils sat for their IGCSE exams back in May, with 457 IGCSEs being sat by a total of 60 candidates. Across those 457 IGCSEs, by far the most common grade achieved was an A* grade – the best grade possible and only awarded for an exam mark above 90%. In fact, of the 457 IGCSEs taken, a remarkable 113 resulted in an A* grade – that is 25% of all the IGCSEs taken. What is more, 44% of all the IGCSEs resulted in either an A*or A grade. This is a little lower than the very high 2015 results, but still ranks well with results from the previous decade of Year 11 year groups. The second most frequent grade achieved was B – indeed two out of every three IGCSEs sat was within the A*/A/B grade range.

The UK national average of Year 11 pupils that receive at least five GCSEs of grade C or better is usually around 55%-60%. This year at St. Lawrence College, 92% of our Year 11 achieved this. What is more – and this was a first for our school – not a single IGCSE among the 457 taken across 16 subjects by 60 candidates was returned ungraded. In terms of success in specific subjects, of all IGCSEs taken in French, Greek or Russian, over 90% resulted in at least an A grade. Likewise 68% of pupils that sat for English Literature. Among the year group, there were several stand out performances from pupils. Emily Holden managed to score A* in every one of her nine IGCSEs. Alessandro Gressani secured eight A*s, Sadin Abdel Fattah and Alexander Petropoulos each bagged seven A*s while Stefania Riga and Ivy Hewett each scored six A*s among their IGCSEs. Congratulations to all of them.

At AS-Level and A-Level there were exactly 300 exam entries across 84 candidates – slightly more than last year’s 292 entries. The AS-Level is at once both a ‘stand-alone’ qualification as well as marking the halfway point for those aiming to complete the full A-Level in a subject. Combining this year’s results for these two qualifications, by far the most common grade awarded was A (including A* which is only available at A-Level, not AS-Level). 37% of all exams taken resulted in this top grade being achieved. While slightly lower than the percentage achieved in 2015 and 2014, it is, at 37%, exactly the same success rate as 2009 and 2010 (with smaller year groups on both occasions) and within a percentage or two of all other recent years’ results. Furthermore, the second most common grade achieved across all 300 exams was a B grade. Thus, 56%, or well over half of all AS-Levels and A-Levels taken in the 2016 exam session resulted in a grade within the A*/A/B grade range.

For the pupils awaiting their A-Level results, there was also the question of gaining admittance to universities. The vast majority are progressing to UK universities and along with the A-Level results came the final confirmation as to which university they will study at and what they will study. These results have sent our pupils to top universities across the UK. As examples of the diversity of destination and course, Melina Beykou, who achieved A*AAA will study Biological Sciences with Molecular Genetics at The University of Edinburgh. Marilena Eleftheriou (AAA) will start a Neuroscience degree at University College London (UCL). Mark Slipchenko (A*BBC) will study Economics at The University of Kent, while Danish Syed (AAB) is admitted to The University of Glasgow for Electronics and Electrical Engineering. Other degree courses to be studied include Dentistry, Politics, Business Management, History of Art, Sport Science and Fashion Marketing.

Headmaster Phil Holden commented “I congratulate all pupils on their exam achievements and wish those who are leaving us to continue their learning in higher education the very best of luck. Our IGCSE, AS and A-Level results are truly very strong in the global context of British education. I thank the teachers throughout St. Lawrence College for the professionalism, dedication and care that they always give and which have led to this day. Those teachers have done more than help our pupils pass their exams. They have helped our school leavers grow into young citizens with a sense of responsibility as well as being learners with adaptable skills. As such our pupils are well-prepared”.