The Outdoor Primary School is a pioneering new school in Ireland that will cover the skills of the Irish National Curriculum through inquiry-based learning whilst being immersed in the natural world. Students will help direct their learning through projects where they are encouraged to question and explore the world around them, whilst also learning core skills in Literacy and Mathematics. Knowledge and application of practical and nature-based skills will be a key part of the curriculum, alongside our core wellbeing strand. We aim to empower our students as curious, resilient, inclusive, problem solvers who are confident digital and global citizens in a rapidly changing future.
We will be opening in September 2025 with our first cohort of students that would be Junior and Senior Infant, and First Class ages, and will then expand organically as our students grow. Our campus will be in the beautiful 52-acres of the SEK International School grounds on Windgates Hill in Greystones, and therefore we will be able to have full use of this stunning area as our classroom! The Outdoor Primary School will not receive funding from the Department of Education, therefore it will be self-funded by parents; and will be inspected by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. All staff are registered teachers through the Irish Teaching Council and are fully Garda vetted. We are a Social Enterprise (registered CLG company) and so have no shareholders to take any profits!
The Three Strands to our Curriculum at TOPS:
- Nature: We learn about nature, in nature, and through nature.
- Nurture: We are mindful of our actions and take care of ourselves, each other and our planet.
- Knowledge: We notice, we wonder, we are active in finding answers to our questions.