Cobh Mixed National school is the smallest school with the highest ratio of teachers to students in Cobh, located a short walk from the town centre. We are a 3-teacher school which includes a full time SET teacher. We provide a close-knit student-led learning environment where children thrive at their own pace with individual attention from their teachers. Each child benefits from personalised teaching while following the national curriculum.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bellevue (as the school is known locally) a protestant school?
The school is under the Church of Ireland Management. This absolutely does not mean that you or your child must be a member of the Church of Ireland to enrol. We welcome members of all faiths and beliefs to attend the school. Members of the community from other religious groups are often invited to share their beliefs with the children under the education of the children on other religions.
Exploring other world religions and beliefs in the Senior Religious Education Curriculum encourages the children to recognise, respect and celebrate cultural diversity. On Fridays, assembly is led by the local rector. We welcome the enrolment of children from different religious backgrounds while also maintaining the Church of Ireland Ethos within the school.
What about Communion and Confirmation?
While we encourage members of all faiths to fully explore all aspects of their religion, we do not prepare students for any religious ceremonies within school hours.
If you wish for your child to take their Holy Communion or Confirmation, or any other religious ceremony, this will need to be supported directly by the relevant church outside of school time. The Roman Catholic Church has always ensured that any children in our school who wish to undertake the Holy Communion or Confirmation are prepared for the ceremonies and join in with another school on the day of the ceremony.
Isn’t it distracting/a disadvantage for students having different ages to learn different things in the same classroom?
On the contrary, research strongly supports the idea that mixed-age classrooms are better for students(*1).
According to Professor Peter Gray, “‘Children have more to learn from others who are older or younger than themselves than they do from age-mates. In the mixed-age play, children scaffold the behaviour of younger ones, so that the latter play within their zones of proximal development and thereby stretch their abilities to higher levels. Even when they are not playing directly
with older children, younger children in age-mixed environments learn by watching and listening to older ones. Conversely, older children practice nurturance and leadership in interactions with younger ones and learn by teaching, and they are inspired by younger children to engage in activities that build their creativity and capacity for imagination.”
Indeed, Cobh Mixed National School has the double advantage of not only having mixed-aged classrooms but also being a small school. For example, our Reading Buddies program sees senior class students paired with junior students to read stories and books to them. As well as forming multi-age bonds, this instils a sense of pride and nurturance in the older students and reaffirms the joy of reading along with individualised attention in the younger students.
For further information on the benefits of mixed-age classrooms, including the academic, social and inclusive benefits, we recommend this article from the American Centre for Evaluation and Education Policy; https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504569.pdf
Will my child miss out on important socialisation skills in a small school?
Only you can decide what kind of school your child will benefit from most. Often parents express concerns that their child will miss out on socialisation skills in a small school. We, and global research (*1), suggest the opposite. A small school establishes an environment where children are socializing not only with their peers but with children of varying ages. This can help all personality types flourish in a safe and supportive setting.
Can a small school support my child’s education fully?
Research also highlights the academic benefits of small schools (*2). Students from small schools tend to outperform their peers from larger schools academically (*3). Students and teachers are also more likely to form stronger connections, meaning both social and educational issues are caught and supported early. Small schools also benefit the parents; with fewer students, parents have greater and faster access to teachers which can
mean any issues can be discussed and dealt with early and often before they become bigger problems.
In a small school setting, the prevention of problems can be paramount, rather than dealing with issues after they have formed.
Do multiage classrooms bore/under-challenge high-ability students? Again, research has shown the opposite (*4). Multiage classrooms can benefit high-ability students greatly since, “Teachers of multi-age classes may be more likely to see their students as diverse than as similar and to provide developmentally appropriate (that is, differentiated) curricula”.
Do you have sports facilities?
We do not have a sports pitch, but we avail of the many sports pitches around Cobh for various sports, which are within walking distance of our school. We also have a well-maintained generous purpose hall that we use for various sports and events such as school plays, gymnastics, dance classes etc. The hall is equipped with a stage, and catering and bathroom facilities. Our school also partakes in various activities such as swimming (in the local swimming pool) and activity walks around Cobh.
We have playground leaders from each class each week who decide which games to play and which equipment to be used for that week in our playground, including basketball, hopscotch and other games.
What are the other benefits of attending Cobh Mixed National School?
As a small school with a high teacher-to-student ratio, we can personalize not just the curriculum but also the activities our students partake in. We can, for example, bring the entire school to the Christmas Panto in Cork City before Christmas, or to the library for special events. We hire guest teachers to expose our students to activities like dance and music and we partake in local competitions and clean-up days. We have more time and attention to engage the childrens’ unique interests. And perhaps the biggest advantage of all is that we can offer a family environment to the students, with a consistent adult presence to connect with throughout their eight years in the school.