ST OLIVERS NS
School Details
Location
About
St. Oliver’s National School is a co‑educational, full‑stream primary school situated in Killarney, Co. Kerry. Rooted in a Catholic ethos, the school strives to be a happy, safe environment where effective teaching and active learning are central to everyday life. With a roll of over 640 pupils, the school operates 24 mainstream classes supported by a robust team of teaching staff, classroom assistants and specialist personnel, including a resource teacher for Travellers and a full‑time caretaker. The school places a strong emphasis on inclusive education, offering a wide range of specialised provisions such as classes for mild learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties (including dyslexia and reading challenges), autism spectrum disorder, and multiple disabilities. These supports are integrated within the mainstream setting, enriching the learning experience for all pupils. Facilities include an outdoor classroom, a dedicated occupational therapy room, and well‑equipped spaces for physical education in the Halla. Extra‑curricular programmes such as the Changemaker initiative, Active School projects, swimming lessons, an infant club, and a student council further promote leadership, creativity, teamwork and wellbeing.
History
St. Oliver’s National School was constructed in 1977 and opened its doors to pupils on 1 September 1977 with nine teachers and 250 pupils. The school was led by its first principal, Mr Brendan Walshe, from its opening until October 2002, after which Mr Rory D’Arcy assumed the role. A long tradition of special‑education provision began with a class for mild learning difficulty in 1992, followed by language difficulty support in 1994, a dyslexia class in 1999, an occupational therapy room in 2006, two multiple‑disability classes in 2017 and an ASD class in 2018. In January 2008 the school celebrated its 30th anniversary with a visit from President Mary Mc Aleese. Recognised for its innovative ethos, St. Oliver’s was selected as one of five Changemaker Schools in Ireland by the Ashoka Social Entrepreneur Organisation in 2014. As of October 2020 the school served 652 pupils, staffed by 62 teachers and 24 classroom assistants.