I was delighted to attend the launch of the Active School Post-Primary programme, which took place in Farmleigh House, Dublin, on 5th November 2025.
The event marked an exciting milestone for the Active School programme, which is a whole-of-school, physical activity initiative for adolescents in post-primary schools in Ireland. Its goal is simple but powerful: “More Schools. More Active. More Often.”
The launch programme consisted of an exciting line-up of speakers and panel discussions. RTÉ Sports Presenter Jacqui Hurley served as MC, setting an energetic tone and guiding engaging and thought-provoking conversations.
We were warmly welcomed by Minister Helen McEntee, TD, Minister for Education and Youth, who acknowledged the important role played by University of Limerick researchers and the wider team in co-designing the post-primary programme.
Three themed panels discussions followed:
- It’s part of what we do
- Space, Voice, Audience, and Influence
- Making things happen
Each panel began with a showcase video from post-primary schools involved in the programme. These videos offered an excellent insight into what Active School looks like in practice, the benefits for school and their communities, how students participate in decision-making, and the leadership roles students take on within Active Schools. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Active School Flag survey reports produced by the University of Limerick’s post-primary research team feature prominently throughout the videos. In the clips we saw examples of Transition Year students using the report to develop their action plans and some presented the data in the report to their local sports partnerships, school staff, fellow students, and wider school community.
The panel members included students, Active School coordinators, school principals, representatives of the Department of Education and Youth and Department of Health, the Active School Post-Primary team, and representatives from the Local Sports Partnership. Professor Catherine Woods, Chair of Physical Activity for Health, University of Limerick featured as a panel member of the ‘Space, Voice, Audience and Influence’ session.
The event concluded with an address from Minister of State Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for Public Health, Well-being and the National Drugs strategy. She emphasised the importance of student voice in the Active School programme as the programme expands from September 2026.
My launch highlights:
- Student voices
Students from St. Joseph’s School, Rochfortbridge, Westmeath, Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin, and Tullow Community School, Carlow shared their experiences of how they benefited from taking part in the programme. Hearing how they benefited from implementing the programme was particularly rewarding.
My own MSc research identified how implementing the Active School programme contributed to Transition Year students’ transferable skill development. It was fulfilling to see some of these transferable skills in action as students confidently participated in panel discussions which put a spotlight on their verbal communication skills, social skills, self-confidence, and knowledge of physical activity that was fostered through their peer leadership of the Active School programme.
- Publication of the Active School Flag Post-Primary Student Survey Report
All launch attendees received a printed copy of the 2024 report which provides a detailed summary of data collected in autumn 2024 from 20,314 students across 42 schools. The report includes data on self-reported physical activity levels, travel modes to and from school, participation in extra-curricular sport and physical activity, and perceived barriers to physical activity participation in the school and community.
Dr. Kwok Ng and Professor Catherine Woods based in the Physical Education and Sport Science Department, University of Limerick developed this report. The dataset is a central component in enabling student voice to meaningfully shape the Active School intervention. All students participating in the programme are consulted via online questionnaires at the beginning of the school year. The University of Limerick Active School post-primary research team develop an individualised report for each school. Using this data the students themselves devise an action plan, tailored to their school’s needs, capabilities, and motivations. I recommend checking out this detailed report that is available online.
- University of Limerick Research Team
It was wonderful to attend the launch alongside other members of the Active School Post-Primary research team including Professor Catherine Woods, Dr. Kwok Ng, Dr. Fiona McHale, and Caera Grady. Having worked with the team during my MSc studies, it was motivating to see how our work was instrumental in the development of the Active School post-primary programme that will be rolled out nationally. It was also gratifying to see the positive recognition and acknowledgement of the role of research in programme development throughout the launch.
Congratulations to Karen Cotter, Carol O’Donnell, and the entire Active School team for their work on hosting a fantastic launch event. A sincere thank you for your collaboration over the past few years.
To learn more about the programme or how your school can get involved, visit: www.activeschoolflag.ie.
Kathleen McNally is a research assistant with Healthy UL and the International Heath Promoting Campuses Conference Team and is based in the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Limerick.
Contact: Email kathleen.Mcnally@ul.ie LinkedIn
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