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School Details
About
Straide National School is a small, four‑teacher, co‑educational primary school situated in a picturesque rural setting close to the River Moy in County Mayo. The school provides three mainstream classes – Infants, 1st‑3rd, and 4th‑6th – supported by a Special Educational Needs (SET) teacher, enabling a personalised approach that promotes the full and harmonious development of every pupil. A broad curriculum balances academic learning with a strong emphasis on creative arts, where children engage in drawing, printing, painting, clay, fabric, fibre and construction, and participate in a school choir and biannual Christmas plays. Sport and wellbeing are integral to school life; pupils take part in hurling, football, soccer and athletics and the school holds Active School and Health Promotion flags. The on‑site Cnoc na nÓg Outdoor Pre‑School offers early years provision, and the school’s community links are highlighted by projects such as the “Creative Freedom: Saoirse Cruthaitheach” inclusive art exhibition, developed with the Michael Davitt Museum to explore social justice, empathy and diversity.
History
The original mixed school in Straide dates from 1880, accommodating 120 boys and 130 girls who paid fees. In 1894 two new single‑sex schools were built, officially opening on 15 July 1896, each with two rooms and a fireplace heated by turf supplied by the pupils. By 1950 the boys’ and girls’ schools amalgamated, and in 1964 a modern three‑classroom building was erected, costing £11,000 and blessed on 14 September 1964. These developments reflect the school’s evolution from a modest 19th‑century institution to the contemporary community‑focused primary school it is today.