St Gabriels National School
School Details
Location
About
St Gabriel’s National School is a mixed‑gender primary school serving children from Junior Infants to 6th class in the Oxmantown Road, Stoneybatter area of Dublin. Guided by a Catholic ethos, the school prioritises a safe and happy environment where pupils develop a positive attitude to learning, self‑esteem and respect for themselves and others. The curriculum is complemented by a broad range of co‑curricular activities, including weekly assemblies, GAA collaborations, maths games with parents, DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), One World, Seachtain na Gaeilge, poetry sessions, a well‑stocked library, the Incredible Years classroom programme, restorative justice initiatives and the School Completion Programme. Inclusion is a core focus: the school operates two special classes for children with moderate learning disabilities and autism, and it participates in a Department of Education wellbeing pilot. An Education Wellbeing Practitioner, supervised by a NEPS psychologist, supports the Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme, where 6th‑class pupils lead initiatives such as a Buddy Bench, a Games Corner and “Well Done” cards to promote kindness, empathy and resilience. Recent projects have seen pupils engage in hands‑on clay work, data‑representation activities and interdisciplinary workshops linking music, sound and science. The school benefits from high‑speed broadband under the national school broadband programme and has invested in eight interactive smart boards for both mainstream and special classrooms, enhancing digital learning and helping to bridge the digital divide for learners at risk of educational disadvantage.
History
St Gabriel’s National School has served the Oxmantown Road and Stoneybatter community since 1895. Originally operating as separate boys’ and girls’ schools, the two merged into a single mixed national school in 1996, continuing a rich and proud tradition in the north‑west inner city of Dublin.