THE SCHOOL is "like someone's kitchen where the older children are helping the younger ones". Mairin Finnegan, sole teacher and principal, is talking about the one classroom Black Valley national primary school, near Killarney, Co Kerry. Her pupils learn about nature from the local plants and animals - which they regularly bring in to school. Some of them ride in each morning on horseback through the stunning mountain scenery of the Gap of Dunloe.

The school, its pupils and teacher feature in a new short series of films, entitled Kerry Schools which focuses on the culture and heritage of five small national primary schools in Kerry. There are 810 one to two teacher schools in the State, representing about a quarter of all national schools.

John MacMahon, editor of education programmes for RTE television, explains that the films which portray a way of life in a particular group of schools in a specific part of the country, are interesting from an environmental point of view as well as a geographical and historical perspective. Often geography students study different ways of life in other countries, but this series offers urban children a chance to see the diversity within Ireland as described by their peers.

The films came to be made after schools inspector Chriss Nolan went to a Nativity play performed by children in front of a blazing turf fire in Barraduff National School, outside Killarney, some years ago. She felt that something of the atmosphere and life of the school, which was facing closure, should be recorded and preserved for sociologists and educationalists.

She approached Pat Dawson, manager of Muckross House in Killarney, and the trustees of Muckross House commissioned productions on five small rural national schools by film maker Donal Haughey.

Dawson says that the footage captures for future generations the children's "tir gra" and their empathy with the schools' locality and environment.

The films now form the first part of a video archive at Kerry Folk Museum at Muckross House. RTE's MacMahon, identifying a wider interest in the series, earmarked it for showing on Network 2 schools schedule.

In addition to the Black Valley and Barraduff schools, the series features pupils at Glenflesk and Knockanes schools, outside Killarney, and An Ghleann, near Ballinskelligs.