Galway Educate Together Secondary School

What Galway Educate Together Secondary School does

Galway Educate Together Secondary School (GETSS) is a co-educational, equality-based, democratic voluntary secondary school located in Newtownsmith, Galway, Ireland, operating under the national Educate Together patronage. Founded in August 2019, the school serves students from 1st Year through 6th Year across the Junior Cycle, Transition Year, and Senior Cycle curricula, and acts as a regional solution for the Galway City and Oranmore school districts with a defined catchment area. Its core offering is a state-funded, free-tuition secondary education grounded in an ethos of restorative practice, student voice, mixed-ability classes, and active citizenship, with no school uniform, first-name addressing, and a School of Sanctuary designation signalling inclusion of students from asylum and refugee backgrounds.

The school's academic technology stack consists of iPads for students and teachers, Microsoft Teams as the virtual learning environment, VSware as the student information system, a dedicated school mobile app, and StudyClix for revision support, with a blended approach at both Junior Cycle (no textbooks) and Senior Cycle, supplemented by teacher-developed resources. The programme surface includes a Drama, Film and Theatre Studies course, Climate Action and Global Citizenship Education, Erasmus+ international exchanges, and an extensive extracurricular and sports offering with Student Council and Prefect leadership pathways. Strategic community partnerships span Druid Theatre Company, Gate Theatre Dublin, Flirt FM (University of Galway), Brigit's Garden, the ISPCC, and the Galway SPCA.

Commercially, the institution is not a revenue-generating enterprise: it is primarily funded through Irish Department of Education grants with ancillary, voluntary parental contributions (such as a capped €100 Bus Éireann transport fee per child) and optional programme fees. Governance rests with a Board of Management under the Educate Together patron body, with Sarah Molloy serving as Principal. The school is currently in temporary accommodation in Newtownsmith and is preparing to transition to a permanent site at Garraun on the Oranmore Coast Road; a recruitment function and active vacancies page indicate ongoing staff expansion consistent with a still-developing school scaling toward full Senior Cycle capacity.

Name

Galway Educate Together Secondary School

Legal name

Galway Educate Together Secondary School

Website

https://galwayetss.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Galway Educate Together Secondary School is a co-educational, equality-based voluntary secondary school in Galway, Ireland, under Educate Together patronage, serving 1st-6th Year students in the Galway City and Oranmore catchment area with a free, state-funded curriculum.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE)

Keywords

• Secondary education
• State-funded schooling
• Junior cycle curriculum
• Senior cycle curriculum
• Transition year programme

Headquarters

HQ city

Newtownsmith, Galway

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. State-Funded Education: As a voluntary secondary school under the Educate Together patronage, Galway ETSS is primarily funded through government (Department of Education) funding. Tuition is free for students as part of Ireland's public secondary education system. Additional revenue may come from ancillary fees for optional programs, school transport contributions, and school events.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Galway Educate Together Secondary School is a voluntary state-funded secondary school providing tuition-free education to students from 1st Year through 6th Year under the Irish secondary curriculum. The school delivers the Junior Cycle, Transition Year, and Senior Cycle programmes, with a distinctive Drama, Film and Theatre Studies course, embedded restorative practice, and a blended learning approach using iPads and Microsoft Teams. Enrolment is open to families in the defined Galway City and Oranmore catchment area.

Product overview

Galway Educate Together Secondary School (GETSS) is a secondary school under the Educate Together patronage that opened in August 2019. The school offers educational services across Junior Cycle, Senior Cycle, and Transition Year programs. It provides a comprehensive curriculum including core academic subjects, Transition Year, Drama Film and Theatre Studies, and various extra-curricular activities. The school uses VSware as its student information system and Microsoft Teams as its virtual learning environment. No commercial products or software services are offered beyond educational programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Junior Cycle Programme
• Transition Year Programme
• Senior Cycle Programme A two-year programme for 5th and 6th Year students (typically ages 16–18) following the Transition Year, delivered through a blended learning approach and culminating in the Leaving Certificate examinations.
• Drama, Film and Theatre Studies Course

Quantifiable outcome

• Three students achieved Distinctions in all subjects in the 2025 Junior Cycle results, with eight students receiving four or more Distinctions.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• GSPCA (Galway SPCA)minorOthers · 21 April 20266th year LCVP students raised €128 through their enterprise project 'candy cane secret share' and donated it to GSPCA to support vet bills and essential animal care. GSPCA representatives visited the school for the presentation.
• Druid Theatre CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Cathal Ryan, currently playing Lennox in Druid Theatre Company's production of Macbeth, visited GETSS Drama, Film and Theatre Studies class to host a Q&A about acting, theatre, and drama school. Students subsequently attended the production as part of their course.
• Flirt FM (University of Galway)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026Transition Year students visited Flirt FM at the University of Galway to learn about broadcast media and practiced their journalism skills during the visit.
• Brigit's GardenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 202610 TY students attended a Global Citizenship Education (GCE) workshop at Brigit's Garden alongside four other Galway schools. The visit included workshops in the gardens and a talk from Palestinian academic and activist Amani Kamal on social impact through community outreach.
• Gate Theatre DublinminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 20265th Year students watched a livestream from the Gate Theatre Dublin of their production 'Poor' by Katrina O'Sullivan. The school expressed appreciation for the Gate's efforts to create accessible theatre for all.
• ISPCC (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2025ISPCC partnered with GETSS to offer a free webinar titled 'Recognising and Responding to Digital Abuse – A guide for Parents' on March 5th, 2025. The ISPCC is co-funded by the European Union and is a partner in the Irish Safer Internet Centre.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Salerno Secondary School: A long-established voluntary Catholic secondary school in Galway City serving the same 1st–6th Year catchment as GETSS. It is a regional peer because it competes for the same Galway City student pool with overlapping curricular offerings (Junior Cycle, Senior Cycle, Transition Year).
• Calasanctius College: A voluntary secondary school located in Oranmore — directly adjacent to GETSS's defined Oranmore Coast Road catchment area. It is a regional peer because it competes for the same Oranmore secondary-age students and offers a comparable Junior/Senior Cycle programme under a different patron.
• Presentation College Headford: A voluntary secondary school serving the broader Galway county catchment (including Headford and surrounding areas). It is a regional peer because it competes for secondary-age students in the wider Galway region under a different Catholic patron, with overlapping curricular delivery.
• Coláiste na Coiribe: An Irish-medium (Gaeltacht) secondary school in Galway City offering Junior and Senior Cycle through the medium of Irish. It is a regional peer because it serves overlapping Galway City and Oranmore families seeking alternative secondary education models, directly competing for the same progressive-parent segment.

Direct peers

• Firhouse Educate Together Secondary School: Another Educate Together secondary school in the Dublin area following the same patron ethos and offering Junior/Senior Cycle and Transition Year. It is a direct peer because it mirrors GETSS's equality-based, no-uniform, mixed-ability model within the same national Educate Together network.
• Dublin 7 Educate Together Secondary School: An Educate Together secondary school serving the Ballymun/Dublin 7 catchment under identical patronage. It is a direct peer due to shared patron body, equality-based ethos, and parallel stage of development as a newer voluntary secondary in its region.
• Cork Educate Together Secondary School: A sister voluntary secondary school operating under the same Educate Together patronage in Cork, delivering the same equality-based, co-educational, student-centred ethos to secondary-age students. It is the most direct comparable because it shares patron body, governance framework, and pedagogical model with GETSS.

Broad incumbents

• Educate Together: The national patron body that governs GETSS and operates multiple equality-based primary and second-level schools across Ireland. It is the broader incumbent network to which GETSS belongs, providing governance, brand, and policy infrastructure comparable to a multi-school group.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/galwayetss
• Instagraminstagram.com/galwayetss
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/galway-educate-together-secondary-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Galway Educate Together Secondary School