"We wanted our children to go to a school with a fresh, modern approach. We are not disappointed. Gaelscoil na Laochra’s real assets are its teachers, who are motivated, caring and supportive in their teaching methods. My children (from a non-Irish speaking background) are going from strength to strength. Not only are they using Irish freely in the home, their social skills and confidence are growing day by day. They are also showing solid progress with other core subjects. Our children love going to school; we are very happy with our choice."
- Angelica
"Initially, I was deeply impressed with the ethos and learning environment being cultivated at Gaelscoil na Laochra and I feel the school is an excellent fit for my child’s needs. It offers a small, intimate multi-denominational and co-educational learning environment in an urban setting. I also believe the school will contribute positively to my child’s overall development while nurturing their learning experience and general well-being during their formative school going years. Also, being part of a Gaelscoil and learning a second language from an early age will make learning easier and it’s also proven to improve cognitive flexibility and problem solving, which I feel is important for my child."
- Karen
"The best thing about this school is how happy the kids are. Is breá liom an chruthaitheacht agus an bheocht sa scoil seo."
- Stella
There are so many reasons why we believe Gaelscoil na Laochra provides an excellent education for our children:
- With the immersion education our children are more creative thinkers and problem solvers.
- They find it easier to learn additional languages.
- Their English is just as good as their peers.
- We love the smaller class sizes.
- The staff facilitate great support for our children.
- Having co-education is a huge plus.
- There is an opportunity for religion and sacraments after school.
- It’s the only Gaelscoil and multi-denominational school in the Birr area.
- There is an emphasis on active, experiential and creative learning.
- We have strong links with the GAA club, the rugby club and the athletics club.
- We have school teams in GAA, athletics and soccer.
- The after school classes in Yoga, Chess and Traditional Irish Music are fantastic.
- It’s great how there are additional foreign languages for senior classes.
- We love the fact that we have a great school community with strong parental partnership.
- The pupils have their very own film club.
- The pupils are highly motivated by the digital learning tools which are used to support teaching and learning across the curriculum.
- We have such a central location and the children walk most places which we love. We have access to the Highfield soccer pitch and Birr Rugby Club sport’s hall for PE which we use weekly.
- The school participates in the Green Schools initiative and has a special emphasis on environmental awareness.
- The Principal and staff are so friendly and the children always have a smile on their face going to school.
- The Sigma and Micra tests are one method of assessment that we use in the primary school. In our school we strive to meet the diverse learning needs of our pupils and we differentiate accordingly. The Drumcondra Irish, SigmaT and MicraT test results offer feedback and insight as to where the children are at relative to other pupils at their age level nationally. There is no teaching towards the test nor inflation of test scores for the purposes of painting the school in a positive light. These results are reflective of the child’s ability to answer specific questions in the context of English, Irish and Maths at a point in time. We use a range of assessment methods on a daily basis which gives us a rich and meaningful insight into the child's level of knowledge and understanding. This allows us to reflect on our teaching practice and the learning activities provided for pupils, plan accordingly, identify suitable strategies and resources to best meet the needs of our pupils on a continuous basis.
