Holy Cross Girls

What Holy Cross Girls does

Holy Cross Girls' Primary School is a Catholic maintained primary school located on Ardoyne Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, serving girls aged 4–11 across Primary 1 through Primary 7. Founded in 1902 in Chief Street and re-housed in its current building on 12 May 1969, the school is governed by a Board of Governors and operates within the state-funded Northern Ireland education system, with admissions prioritising girls from the Holy Cross parish, siblings of current pupils, and then applicants from other areas. Core delivery comprises a child-centred, broad and balanced curriculum covering Language & Literacy, Mathematics, Religious Education, ICT, The World Around Us, The Arts, Physical Education, and PDMU, supplemented by distinctive programmes: an accredited Forest School (six staff at OCN NI Level 3), Eco Schools with maintained Green Flag status (most recently 2025), a Shared Education partnership with Wheatfield Primary School running since 2017, and an ICT programme that has earned the Digital Schools Award and was featured by CCEA as a model of good practice. The school holds an 'Outstanding' ETI inspection grade from March 2015 and has accumulated additional recognition including Woodland Trust Gold, School of Sanctuary status, RHS Level 5 School Gardening, and a Primary School International Development Award via its partnership with St Theresa's School in Uganda.

The school is led by Acting Principal Ms A Shannon following the retirement of long-serving Principal Mrs Kathy Owens and Senior Leader Mrs McElroy, who between them had over 70 years of service to the Ardoyne community. Teaching and support staff total approximately 25–35 personnel. Revenue is derived almost entirely from government funding for primary education, with minor ancillary income from school meals at £3.10 per day, breakfast club (free), and school trips. Marketing and recruitment are community-led — leveraging the parish network, the school website, a dedicated iOS/Android app, Facebook, and prospective-parent tours — with no commercial distribution channels. Strategic partnerships span civic bodies (Belfast City Council, NI Forest Schools Association), corporate actors (PWC for coding, Hastings Hotels for gardening), and educational institutions (Wheatfield PS, Nerve Belfast, University of Ulster, CCEA, Mercy College, St Theresa's Uganda), reflecting an ecosystem approach to extending learning opportunities beyond the core curriculum.

Name

Holy Cross Girls

Legal name

Holy Cross Girls' Primary School

Website

https://holycrossgirls.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Holy Cross Girls' Primary School is a Catholic maintained primary school in Ardoyne, Belfast, providing faith-based education for girls aged 4–11 across Primary 1–7, funded by the Northern Ireland state system with an Outstanding ETI grade (2015) and distinctive Forest School, Eco Schools, and Shared Education programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

Keywords

• Catholic primary education
• Girls primary school
• Faith-based education
• Primary curriculum
• Outdoor learning programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government-funded Primary Education: Publicly funded Catholic primary school providing education from Primary 1 to Primary 7, funded through the Northern Ireland education system. Additional revenue from breakfast club, canteen meals (£3.10 daily), and school trips.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Holy Cross Girls' Primary School is a Catholic maintained primary school in Ardoyne, Belfast, delivering child-centred education for girls from Primary 1 through Primary 7. It offers a broad, balanced curriculum across core and specialist subjects, complemented by signature programmes including Forest School, Eco Schools, Shared Education, and an ICT/digital skills curriculum, supported by dedicated learning support and pastoral care.

Product overview

Holy Cross Girls' Primary School is a Catholic primary school offering educational programmes from Primary 1 through Primary 7. The school's core educational products include a comprehensive curriculum covering Language & Literacy, Mathematics, Religious Education, ICT, The World Around Us, The Arts, Physical Education, and PDMU. Specialised programmes include the Forest School Programme for outdoor experiential learning, Eco Schools Programme for environmental education maintaining Green Flag Status, and a Shared Education Programme partnered with Wheatfield Primary School for cross-community learning. The school also offers an ICT curriculum emphasising digital skills, coding, and internet safety, having received the Digital Schools Award.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primary 1-7 Curriculum (Language & Literacy, Mathematics, Religious Education, The World Around Us, The Arts, Physical Education, PDMU)

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wheatfield Primary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Long-standing partnership since 2017 in the Shared Education programme, providing collaborative and meaningful learning experiences for pupils, staff and communities. Schools explore outdoor education together through visits, workshops, trips and events. Partnership includes joint choir, PeacePlayers basketball programme, and buddy sessions.
• St Theresa's School, UgandacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership resulting in Primary School International Development Award. Teachers from both schools visit annually to exchange topic work and share teaching experiences. Partnership helps pupils learn to respect diversity and equality.
• Bradley Manor Care HomecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-generational community partnership with elderly care home. Choir performs for residents, P4 pupils visit regularly. Partnership won Dementia Friendly Partnership Award. School participates in National Care Home Day and supports with Christmas hampers for Welcome Trust.
• Holy Cross ParishcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral to school ethos with dedicated priests who help prepare children for sacraments. Parish Christmas Carol Service involves Holy Cross Boys' PS and Mercy Primary School. School maintains strong family ethos connected to parish community.
• PeacePlayers InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational programme that coaches basketball to P4-P7 pupils. Part of PDMU curriculum promoting peacebuilding and cross-community relations.
• Cancer Focus NIminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides Smokebusters programme for P6 pupils educating on dangers of smoking and vaping. Part of health awareness programmes.
• RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDelivers Meet the Lifeguards Roadshow teaching water safety, beach safety, flag colours recognition, and rescue procedures.
• University of UlsterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner'Yes I Can' programme supports children's understanding in numeracy through active learning workshops using Izak 9 cubes to teach fractions, percentages, decimals, equivalence and shape.
• Nerve BelfastminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDelivers Coding Programme leading to Coding Afterschool clubs for P4-P7. Girls learn coding basics using various programmes and apps.
• PWCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHive Hackers programme where PWC staff work with KS2 teachers and pupils to teach Computer Science skills including programming, algorithms, loops and debugging.
• CCEAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCouncil for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment featured Holy Cross Girls' ICT programme as a model of good practice, producing a showcase video.
• Hastings Hotels GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2016 as one of five NI schools involved in edible garden project at six Hastings hotels including Europa Hotel roof garden. Part of sustainability commitment.
• Belfast City CouncilminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartners for RHS School Gardening Award programme and Belfast One Million Trees programme. Daffodil planting projects with council support.
• Mercy CollegeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStudent volunteers assist with Spórt agus Spraoi fundraising events and school activities.
• Ardoyne Kickhams GACminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGAA coaches provide fundamental movement skills coaching. Supports school Gaelic football activities.
• Ardoyne LibraryminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerP4 enjoys visiting local library with friends from Wheatfield PS as part of Shared Education literacy project.
• Northern Ireland Forest Schools AssociationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAccreditation body for Forest School programme. Six teachers trained to Level 3 Leader status, school awarded Official Forest School status and Birch plaque.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mercy Primary School: Catholic maintained primary school in Belfast referenced in Holy Cross Girls' parish activities (joint Parish Christmas Carol Service). Operates a similar faith-based model serving a comparable family demographic.
• Holy Cross Boys' Primary School: The boys' counterpart school on the same Holy Cross parish catchment in Ardoyne, Belfast. Explicitly named as a parish partner in the school's data, it is the closest same-parish Catholic maintained primary peer.
• Wheatfield Primary School: Neighbouring Belfast primary school and core Shared Education partner since 2017. Operates as a directly comparable maintained primary with joint cross-community programmes in outdoor education, choir, and PeacePlayers basketball.
• St Patrick's Primary School: Catholic maintained primary school in Belfast with a comparable faith-based, parish-anchored admissions model and similar curriculum structure (Religious Education, ICT, Forest/Eco programmes).
• St Oliver Plunkett Primary School: Catholic maintained primary school in the greater Belfast area offering faith-based primary education on a comparable single-site model. Operates within the same Northern Ireland education funding and admissions framework.

Emerging players

• St Theresa's Primary School (Uganda): International partner primary school in Uganda with which Holy Cross Girls runs annual teacher exchanges and joint topic work. Comparable as a faith-based primary school, though operating in a different regulatory and funding environment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/holycrossgirls
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holy-cross-girls

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holy Cross Girls