History of the School

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St Vincents Girls School is situated in the North Inner City in North William Street, between the North Strand and Ballybough. The school has a long history. It was established in 1825 and was officially named North William Street School. It was managed by the Religious Sisters of Charity until 1857 when it was taken over by the Daughters of Charity at the request of Cardinal Cullen. There were 300 pupils on roll at this time and each teacher taught 70 pupils.

The primary objectives of the Sisters in their management of the school and teaching were:

• to inculcate basic Christian Doctrine and values.
• to develop a proficiency in literacy and numeracy.
• to uphold Irish language and culture.

In 1897 the school became part of the National System of Education and was officially named St. Vincents Girls' National School. The sahool was given an offcial Roll Number. The school building had become delapidated by the middle of the century and was demolished in the early 1960's. The new school was re-opened in 1966 with:

• 20 classrooms
• a cookery room
• a staff room
• 3 cloakrooms
• a secretary's office
• a principal's office
• a spacious hall.

There were 600 pupils in the school when it re-opened compared with 300 today.

In the 1970's the school was included in the Department of Education Disadvantage Scheme and in 1996 was included in the Breaking the Cycle of Educational Disadvantages Scheme. This has provided great opportunities for the children in terms of small numbers, funding for materials and extra curricular activities, all of which are very necessary for disadvantaged pupils.

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