Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan
School Details
Location
About
Loreto Secondary School, Balbriggan is a Catholic girls’ secondary school located directly on the seafront in Balbriggan. The school’s ethos, inspired by Mary Ward, seeks to develop every student’s academic, spiritual and personal abilities, encouraging self‑confidence, self‑esteem and a commitment to service within a happy, structured environment. Collaboration and mutual respect are central to the school community, which strives for holistic excellence across the Junior and Senior cycles. The campus is described as “second to none”, offering a wide range of modern facilities. Students have access to two computer rooms, four art rooms, six science laboratories, a large library, two assembly areas, four kitchens and specialised demonstration rooms. Sporting provision includes basketball and tennis courts, a flood‑lit AstroTurf pitch and a state‑of‑the‑art gym. The school day runs from 9.10 am to 4 pm (with a shortened Wednesday), and robust pastoral systems are in place to ensure every pupil feels a sense of belonging and wellbeing.
History
The Loreto sisters established the school in 1857 when Sister Paul Finn of Loreto Navan accepted a proposal to open a school at Gracefield House on a six‑acre coastal site. Mother Ignatius Barrett became the first Mother Superior, and the institution opened as a boarding school in November 1857 while also serving local day pupils. The boarding component closed in 1980, and a mixed junior school operated on the grounds from 1950 to 1986. Responding to the expansion of free education and regional population growth, a new school building was opened in 1983, followed by the Mary Ward House extension in 2007. In 2012 the modern Gracefield House was added, creating a campus of three interconnected buildings centred around a courtyard and equipped with extensive academic and sporting facilities.