Avoca National School - S. N. Phàdraig Naofa

Scoil Náisiúnta Phádraig Naofa is a co-education school, serving a rural community that is mixed in both religion and socio-economic class. It is, however, a Roman Catholic school, and this ethos is promoted sincerely, but in a spirit of tolerance and respect for the beliefs of all who attend the school.

The school aims to teach the skills that are needed to develop each child's intellect. Its aims are also to imbue the children with appropriate spiritual, moral, and cultural values; and to develop their awareness and understanding of their environment at a local, national and global level. The school seeks to promote the physical and emotional well-being of all pupils, and to develop their expressive, artistic, and creative abilities to each pupil's full capacity.

The teachers will work in a spirit of partnership with the parents and the clergy for the good of the children, and they aim to make the school a happy and effective place for learning.

The school motto "Tobar and Leinn" (Well of Learning) is embroidered on the school crest. It represents a link between the old and the new. The 'old' from when the school was situated in the heart of the village to the 'new' where descendants of the first miners bearing family names such as Tuke and Porter are still on the roll books of a school that now bears little resemblance to the past but where the old tradition of the school as a 'well of learning' remains the same.