New Educate Together Secondary School opens today with 28 students

The country's newest Educate Together Secondary School opens its doors in South County Dublin today with just 28 pupils.

Only first years have been allowed enrol in the Stepaside Educate Together this year, but more classes will be added each September.

Principal Barbara Mulhall expects pupil numbers to reach a thousand by the time they're full.

But meanwhile she says it is providing a unique experience for their inaugural students: "One of the things that I have been told by other schools, start up schools is the students in first year when there are no older students are much more innocent and they play in the yard and they are not trying to reach the level of coolness that the other students might have, so they are looking forward to being the future of this school."