Kilnamartyra National School in Co Cork has 85 boys and girls on its rolls. But this three-teacher school is different. A decade ago, its principal, Mr Daithi McSweeney, became alert to the fact that computers in the classroom were the way forward. Now, it has its own Web site and is in regular cyberspace correspondence with other schools all over the world.
It could be argued that this small rural school in a part of the countryside not often visited by people from outside Cork is the State's most go-ahead national school. Before last St Patrick's Day, an elementary school in Kansas made contact through the Web site. It wanted the rules of Gaelic football, and some traditional Irish recipes.
Kilnamartyra National School sent the rules, and recipes for bacon and cabbage and Irish stew. Then came a reply to the effect that a "very ugly" game of Gaelic football had been enjoyed by one and all on St Patrick's Day, before the Kansas students were served with bacon and cabbage. That's how the Web can foster links.
Just the other day, after a visit to the school by the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Martin, a German school came through to offer its congratulations. This school must have done its research properly, for the Germans even knew Mr Martin was a former Cork Lord Mayor. And, said the message, the German pupils were extremely impressed by the fact that a "real" Minister had called.
The reason for the Minister's visit was that the school, together with a local computer manufacturer - PC-PRO - had launched a new joint project. The computer company is sponsoring the project to the tune of £25,000.
In the first phase, eight computers will be provided; in the second, a further eight; until the third year, when the total number of computers in the school will come to 24.
Because a school of this size has an average class size of eight pupils, each pupil during the computer class will have access to his or her own computer while other classes are going on in tandem. In that way, says Mr McSweeney, the computer will effectively become a teacher's assistant.
The pupils' parents have rowed in with funding for new software, paper, ink cartridges, etc.