St Attractas Senior National School
School Details
Location
About
St. Attractas Senior National School is a parish‑run primary school situated in the foothills of the Dublin mountains, serving the Meadowbrook community in Dublin 16. The school provides a child‑centred education for boys and girls from 3rd to 6th class, underpinned by a Catholic ethos of mutual respect and cooperation. Its motto, *Ar aghaidh le chéile*, reflects a collaborative spirit that involves pupils, parents, management and the wider community in the life of the school. The campus has been extensively modernised. Facilities include a well‑equipped library, a contemporary computer suite with 45 networked computers, interactive whiteboards in every classroom, and a 100 m² curriculum room for cookery, music, science, drama and other specialist subjects. Recent upgrades comprise new marmoleum flooring, roof lights, upgraded security and fire alarms, landscaped gardens and a new hall carpet. The school also offers robust support for additional educational needs, with a team of special‑education teachers and Special Needs Assistants, and has been recognised as a Digital School of Distinction by the Department of Education & Skills.
History
St. Attractas Senior National School was built in 1980, initially sharing accommodation with the junior school. Although eight new classrooms were added, the school operated with 12 of the originally planned 16 classrooms for 25 years. From 1998 onward, a programme of physical improvements was undertaken, including new flooring, furniture, modernised computer facilities, upgraded ceilings, doors, windows, external fascias, tarmac, lighting, security cameras and film, as well as roof lights, landscaped gardens and a new hall carpet. An extension application submitted in 1998 was approved and completed ten years later, adding three classrooms, learning‑support/resource rooms, a bright reception area, additional storage, a new library and a 100 m² curriculum room. Over the past quarter‑century the school has expanded its special‑needs provision from none to seven teachers and eleven assistants, and its technology provision has grown from a single Commodore 64 in 1984 to a fully networked computer suite and interactive whiteboards, earning the status of a Digital School of Distinction.