Cork Educate Together Secondary School

What Cork Educate Together Secondary School does

Cork Educate Together Secondary School (CETSS) is a multi-denominational, co-educational voluntary secondary school in Cork, Ireland, opened in September 2016 as the first Educate Together secondary school outside the Greater Dublin area. As of the 2025/2026 academic year (its 9th year) it serves 405 students with 38 teachers, operating from temporary accommodation at Griffith College on Wellington Road while awaiting delivery of a permanent 600-pupil building in the Douglas area planned for 2027/28. The school delivers the full Irish secondary curriculum: Junior Cycle, compulsory Transition Year, and Leaving Certificate, supplemented by short courses in Climate Action, Sustainability, Digital Literacy, and Ethical Education, and a phenomenon-based learning approach inspired by the Finnish system.

CETSS runs a technology-enhanced, virtually textbook-free model built on iPads supplied through partner Wriggle, Schoology as the LMS/VLE for classroom management and assessment, and locally developed digital teaching resources shared across the Educate Together network's virtual subject departments. Its Computer Studies programme, developed with IT-sector parents, covers coding, hardware/software literacy, media production, and maker skills (Arduino, Raspberry Pi), and includes a game-development collaboration with Cork Institute of Technology (CIT). CETSS teachers co-developed the NCCA's Junior Cycle Climate Action short course (delivered nationally from 2021) and operate a dedicated ASD class addressing a documented gap in Cork city, underpinned by Section 37a of the Admissions Act.

CETSS is fully funded by the Irish Department of Education and Skills and charges no tuition; revenue derives from per-capita and capitation grants, with small supplements from EU NRRP funding (digital divide), Community Foundation Ireland, and World Wise Global Schools (climate education). Distribution is catchment-driven (Frankfield to Rochestown, served by daily bus) through a transparent annual admissions cycle (October 1 first-year window; May 1–22 transfer window) plus an ASD class waiting list. The school is governed by a Board of Management chaired by Olivia Flynn with Principal Colm O'Connor as secretary, under the patronage of Educate Together, the national equality-based school network.

Name

Cork Educate Together Secondary School

Legal name

Cork Educate Together Secondary School

Website

https://cetsl.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cork Educate Together Secondary School is a multi-denominational, co-educational secondary school in Cork, Ireland serving 405 students (38 teachers) with a technology-enhanced, student-centred curriculum. Fully funded by the Irish Department of Education, it delivers Junior Cycle, Transition Year, and Leaving Certificate programmes within a defined catchment area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools (EDAJABAA)

Keywords

• Secondary education services
• Junior cycle curriculum
• Leaving certificate programme
• Transition year programme
• Multi-denominational schooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Cork

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (Department of Education): Fully funded by the Department of Education and Skills as a Voluntary Secondary School. No tuition fees charged to students.
2. State-Funded Capital: Department of Education has purchased a site and secured planning permission for permanent school building to accommodate 600 pupils.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cork Educate Together Secondary School delivers state-funded secondary education to students aged 12-18 in Cork, Ireland, through the national Junior Cycle, Transition Year, and Leaving Certificate programmes. The school runs a technology-based, virtually textbook-free tablet learning model with Schoology as its LMS, a custom Computer Studies programme, and co-developed Junior Cycle short courses in Climate Action and Sustainability. The school also operates a dedicated Autism Class under its formal Admissions Policy and is currently developing a 600-pupil permanent building in Douglas.

Product overview

Cork Educate Together Secondary School is a multi-denominational, co-educational secondary school that offers a technology-enhanced, student-centred education model. The core educational products include the Junior Cycle Programme (3-year curriculum with 8 examined subjects and 4 short courses), the Transition Year Programme (1-year compulsory preparation programme), and the Leaving Certificate Programme (Senior Cycle). Technology integration is delivered through the Digital School Initiative using tablets (partnered with Wriggle) and Schoology as the learning management system. The Computer Studies programme provides coding and maker education. Short courses in Climate Action and Sustainability complement the core curriculum. The school also offers creative engagement with artists, extra-curricular activities (sports and clubs), and is developing its permanent school building in Douglas expected for 2027/8.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Junior Cycle Programme
• Transition Year Programme
• Leaving Certificate Programme
• Autism Class (ASD Special Class)

Quantifiable outcome

• Students achieving maximum or near-maximum Leaving Certificate points in first graduating cohort (2022)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Irish Second Level Students' Union (ISSU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Student union providing support for three-year programme of teacher training and peer learning for empowering youth climate education.
• Bridge21coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership organisation pictured with principals of Educate Together secondary schools at planning sessions. Supports model of 21st century education development.
• Sample-StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIrish artist organisation collaborating on large-scale art collaboration 'Metamorphosis' culminating in curated exhibition, and ongoing Creative Engagement projects with students including photography and visual arts workshops.
• WrigglecoreTechnology or IntegrationDevice provision partner for supplying tablets to students. Collaboration on provision of devices for the tablet school programme.
• Cork Institute of Technology (CIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigher education institution collaborating on game development project where students design and produce prototype educational games. Three-day workshop hosted at CIT for final prototype production.
• Fighting WordsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative writing organisation providing poetry workshops with poet Chiamaka Enyi-Amadi for TY students through series of online workshop lessons.
• Makers In SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaker education network providing resources and support for maker space activities and maker culture in schools.
• National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCETSS teachers co-developed the new Junior Cycle short course in Climate Action with NCCA, educators from NWETSS, and inputs from youth organisations and expert advisory groups.
• North Wicklow ETSSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school in development of Climate Action short course. Educators from both schools formed team to lead yearlong project.
• Fiona Kelly (Artist)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIrish artist delivering TY Creative Engagement project with students, creating stop motion video work.
• Schools of Sanctuary NetworkminorOthersNetwork membership providing framework for creating safe and welcoming environment for students from marginalised ethnic communities and refugee backgrounds.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Educate Together: Educate Together is CETSS's parent patron body and the operator of the broader 95 primary and 21 second-level school network in Ireland. As the umbrella network, it sets the equality-based, multi-denominational charter that all member schools follow, and provides governance, advocacy, and shared services across the network.

Others

• Bridge21: Bridge21 is a Trinity College Dublin-affiliated educational partnership organisation that supports 21st century teaching models. While not a school itself, Bridge21 collaborates with Educate Together second-level schools on planning, pedagogy development, and 21st century learning frameworks, making it an enabling/thematic peer in the alternative education ecosystem.
• Schools of Sanctuary Network Ireland: Schools of Sanctuary Ireland is a thematic/network peer rather than a direct competitor. CETSS holds membership in this network alongside other Irish schools committed to providing welcoming environments for students from marginalised ethnic communities. The network overlaps in values (inclusion, equality, diversity) but does not offer competing educational services.
• Wriggle (Ireland): Wriggle is an Irish education technology specialist and CETSS's device provision partner for the school's tablet programme. While Wriggle serves as a supplier rather than a competitor, it represents a closely-aligned technology partner in the Irish edtech ecosystem serving schools.

Direct peers

• North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School (NWETSS): North Wicklow ETSS is the most directly comparable peer: another Educate Together second-level school with similar ethos, multi-denominational/equality-based values, and student-centred approach. The two schools have formally partnered on co-developing the NCCA Climate Action short course, indicating near-identical pedagogical philosophy and curriculum innovation profile.
• Galway Educate Together Secondary School: Galway ETSS is a fellow Educate Together second-level school operating outside the Greater Dublin area with a similar multi-denominational, technology-enhanced curriculum model. As a regional alternative secondary school under the same patron, it offers a directly comparable model for CETSS in terms of scale, governance, and student-centred pedagogy.
• Dublin Educate Together Secondary School: Dublin ETSS is one of the founding Educate Together second-level schools and operates under the same patron body, multi-denominational ethos, and student-centred philosophy as CETSS. Both schools share curriculum innovations through the Educate Together virtual subject departments and represent the Greater Dublin reference model that CETSS adapted for Cork.
• Limerick Educate Together Secondary School: Limerick ETSS operates as a fellow Educate Together second-level school in a regional Irish city, sharing the equality-based, multi-denominational, student-centred ethos. Both schools benefit from network-level collaboration on curriculum, technology integration, and shared resources through the Educate Together virtual subject departments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CorkETSS
• Facebookfacebook.com/cetsl.ie
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cork-educate-together-secondary-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cork Educate Together Secondary School