26.06.2026
Celebrating 200 Years of Education at Booterstown NS
Two hundred years of education of the children of Booterstown and Blackrock has been a focus of great celebration this month. The festivities culminated with a special assembly and the dedication of a new multi–sensory room and a nurture room at Booterstown National School yesterday (Thursday June 25) by Archbishop Michael Jackson.
The school community celebrated with an open day and concert earlier in the month followed by a united service in St Philip and St James’s Church on Sunday June 14.
Pupils at Booterstown National School are already enjoying the benefits of the new Nurture Room which provides a calm, safe environment, for small–group support, and where emotional regulation activities, relationship–building, and social skills work, can take place.
The Multi–sensory Room, which will be finished by the time children return to school in September, will provide a supportive space for pupils who have particular needs with emotional regulation and/or sensory overload, or who need sensory stimulation.
The new rooms have been created out of the school’s computer room which was no longer needed.
A number of pupils along with the Principal Stephanie Elders, the Rector Canon Gillian Wharton, deputy Chair of the Board of Management Gordon Richards helped the Archbishop cut the ribbon to officially open the new rooms.
Speaking during the special assembly, Archbishop Michael Jackson highlighted the education of generations of children who have attended Booterstown National School. “Today part of what we do is to mark and celebrate many generations of education at the school. The idea of continuity is something you will take away with you – you are part of something that happened before you, you are part of something that you made happen while you were here and you are also part of something that you leave for those who come after you,” he said.
In 1826, two years after the opening of St Philip and St James’ Church, the Booterstown Parochial Infant School was founded, situated where the Barrett Cheshire Home is today. In 1916, Carysfort Parish National School amalgamated with Booterstown Parish National School to become Booterstown Parochial Joint Schools. In the 1957, due to booming numbers at the school and after much fund–raising, the current school building next to the church was opened.
“We give thanks for the essence and the spirit of Booterstown National School which has continued for over 200 years, through the evolution of the buildings, facilities, curricula and educational methods,” Canon Wharton said at the service of celebration. “We give thanks for the school as a community of people, comprising pupils, staff, parents, the board of management and the wider community. We give thanks for those whose faith and vision saw the foundation of the school and those who have been a part of the school for the past 200 years, and for all that we look forward to in the continuing essence and spirit of Booterstown National School, influencing and enriching the lives of current and future generations, and making the school to be a place of inclusion and welcome.”
