It may have the smallest class sizes in Northern Ireland, but there are few schools with better views than St Mary's Primary.
Perched on a hilltop and about a five-minute walk from Rathlin harbour, the two-room building looks down on the island's picturesque bay and the cliffs of Fair Head that mark the Antrim mainland.
But the school's commanding panorama is of little concern to Phillip and Eoin. The Primary 7 and Primary 5 pupils (and classes) are getting to grips with the rather tricky task of alliteration, writing their own poems based on Rathlin myths and legends.
At adjacent desks, their younger classmates, siblings Orlagh and Ryan, are familiarising themselves with maths vocabulary. Its surrounding may be exceptional, but in the smallest school in Northern Ireland, it's business as usual.
Despite its size, St Mary's boasts facilities that would be the envy of many full-size schools. Last month saw the opening of the school's new playground and sports pitch, built following a grant of £62, 000 from the UK National Lottery's Big Lottery Fund. The classroom contains two computers with internet connections and the school's pupil-in-waiting, four-year old Millie, spends several mornings a week in her own purpose-designed playroom next door.
Confident and articulate, Phillip Zywcyuk, the school's eldest pupil speaks proudly of the A grade he achieved in the Transfer Test, the examination sat by the majority of 11-year-olds in the North that determines which secondary school they will attend.
Phillip's grade means he will move from Rathlin to the centre of Belfast next year, to attend Methodist College next year - the nearest school to the island that still offers boarding facilities. For Rathlin pupils attending high schools or comprehensives on the mainland, mid-week accommodation is provided by relatives and family friends while weekends are spent at back on the island.
"I want to be a computer game designer," says Phillip, well aware that his dream job is not among the small number of trades Rathlin currently offers its young people. "I love living here," he says, "but I don't think I'll come back to work."
The same decision has been made somewhat trickier for Phillip's classmate Eoin McCurdy. The current political wrangling in Northern Ireland over the future of academic selection means it is unclear if the Transfer Test will be abolished by the time Eoin reaches his final year of primary school.
Sean O'Halloran, the substitute teacher, is well-placed to advise his pupils on swapping island life for the bustle of the city. The Yorkshire native worked in Singapore and Hong Kong with his wife (the school's regular teacher), before moving to Rathlin Island three months ago.
"The children don't seem to be phased by moving away," says O'Halloran. "It's just part of island life. They know it's coming."
Taking a break from her GCSE revision at McCuaig's bar is Brona McFaul. The 16-year-old attends secondary school on the mainland and is determined to come back and work on the island. "I love it here too much to leave", she says. "The thought of going somewhere like Belfast seems pretty scary."
For Dawn Curry, Brona's 19-year-old friend working behind the bar, the opposite is the case. After quitting her studies in social work at the local Further Education College, Dawn, a keen artist, says she wants to travel before deciding on a career. "I really like living on Rathlin," she says, while preparing Irish coffees for tourists. "But I'm not sure what I would do here when I'm older."