THE FAYTHE SCHOOL, WEXFORD

The school in the Faythe was presented to the Sisters of St. John of God by Richard Devereux on 11th March 1875. The building had originally been the Christian Brothers School. The first principal was Sr. Agnes Pearson whom the children referred to as "Miss Agnes". The Sisters lived in the school for some years, only returning to the convent on weekends. We do not know how many children attended the school for the first 14 years as no register was kept but the first girls' register is dated 2nd Jan 1899 and contains the names of 41 infant girls enrolled on that day. Dates of birth, addresses and fathers' occupations are recorded. The boys' register begins on July 2nd 1902, when 93 boys were registered.

The school was very much smaller then than it is now. Upstairs there was a small oratory where the children received the Sacraments. Until 1910 First Communion and Confirmation were received on the same day. The school was divided into the boys' school, the baby room, the younger girls' school (for some reason known as the synagogue) and Our Lady's School for the older girls.

In 1944 the school was entirely rebuilt and had a secondary "top" which opened in 1947. It is interesting to note that while the new school was being built not one day of tuition was lost. In 1968 the last Leaving Certificate class left. The school then became a Primary School only in 1971, in which year the building was extended. This was the year of the first "New Curriculum". 1980-1981 saw the highest number of children, 650, on rolls.

The school has had 6 Principals in its long history: Sr. Agnes Pearson, Sr. deSales Browne, Sr. Columbanus O'Farrell, Sr. Paulinus 0' Gorman, Sr. Teresa Joseph Hennessy and Sr. Marie Jones, the current Principal.