Ronan Walsh

Head of School

As 2022 approaches at Sutton Park School leading us to expect that the coming year will bring as much excitement as the previous ones have done. If you are reading this from foreign shores or local environs, speculating on the future of your son or daughter, then feel free to use the information contained in this website but also more importantly, in our Twitter Feed to give you a further flavour of Sutton Park School and all it entails. In a school which embraces so many nationalities and whose ages span from 4 to 19 years of age, it is impossible to account here for all the achievements that our school community is responsible for, week by week and month by month. But please trust me when I say, as our Mission Statement attests that “we nurture, inspire and empower our students to strive for excellence in all that they do as responsible global citizens”.

Our International Accreditation received a ringing endorsement in April 2019 as both CIS and NEASC reaccredited Sutton Park School as the premier international school in Ireland. This endorsement does not just extend to our international accreditors. The Department of Education and Skills recent subject inspections and Whole School Evaluation gave huge praise to the school, its students and its learning culture. Please see links to these reports in the Downloads section of this website.

The last 18 months have proved challenging.  However, I am proud to say that our reputation as a school was enhanced by our skill in adapting to online learning from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.  We have been much lauded for this and are very proud to claim to be a leading Irish school in the area of on-line learning and support.  We have modified this approach and adapted it to use the adversity we found ourselves facing to enhance the learning of all students and it is true to say that we have advanced the school in 18 months what many would have said might have taken five years.  We are extremely proud of this.

It continues to be our ambition to strive for academic excellence for all our students but most importantly to ensure that each of our students are happy at school and see school as a safe and enjoyable place to spend what is a large part of their young lives.  Our academic record speaks for itself and recently published statistics endorse this.  However, what we are proudest of is our strength in guiding the students through school and on to the next level.  That is what we judge ourselves on and we know that this and happiness are the main priority of all members of our school community.

We missed this year, the usual excitement of the Junior & Intermediate School plays and look forward to some compensation for this later in the year!   We are also anticipating continuing success on the Sports field as Sutton Park School continues to punch above its weight at hockey, volleyball, basketball, badminton, athletics, rowing and soccer. Our musicians continue to represent the school at all levels with continued success at both National and International level.  We have managed, in spite of adverse circumstances, to host three online concerts to wide acclaim.  Our Music Department continues to flourish, reinvent itself and grow.  The Young Scientist competition is fast approaching and as ever our STEM Department will be leading the way as our reputation at a national level continues to impress.

I would like to thank all members of the school community for their continued support and kindness. It has not been easy over the last 18 months but it has been incredibly fulfilling to see how the partnership between all constituencies of the school community have combined to maintain Sutton Park’s reputation as a fantastic school.