School planning area
Carlow
17 primary schools and 4,182 pupils in 2025/26, in Counties Carlow and Laois.
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 4,182
- −137 on 2024/25
- Since 2015/16
- −5.0%
- 4,402 pupils in 2015/16
- Schools
- 17
- −1 on 2024/25
- Average class size
- 21.54
- Average school size: 246.0
By county
This planning area crosses county lines. Select a county to see its part of the area.
Trends in Carlow
Each year counts the schools in this planning area today, plus any that closed from 2023/24. Dotted lines bridge 1983/84 to 1992/93. 1974/75 is left out because that year's source file is missing five counties.
The Department's files only record planning areas from 2023/24, so schools that closed or amalgamated before then aren't counted in any area. The further back you go, the more pupils are missing, and an amalgamation can look like a sudden rise. Across Counties Carlow and Laois, schools with no planning area had 8.1% of pupils in 2015/16, 10.4% in 2005/06 and 29.0% in 1975/76. Known data issues
Pupils
4,182
−137 on 2024/25
Schools
17
13 in 1975/76
Average pupils per school
246.0
211.8 in 1975/76
Average class size
21.54
−1.24 on 2024/25
Pupils in these schools
Junior infants, girls and boys, and Irish-medium schools over time, for the same schools as the trends above.
Junior infants
Pupils starting school each year. Class-by-class figures start in 2020/21. 469 in 2025/26, −7 on 2024/25.
Girls and boys
From 1976/77: earlier files don't split every school's pupils into girls and boys.
Irish-medium schools
Pupils in schools that teach all subjects through Irish (1 school today). 444 pupils in 2025/26, 10.6% of the area's pupils, against 10.9% in 2015/16. Each school counts under its current classification for every year.
Growing and falling since 2015/16
Each school's change in pupils over 10 years, from 2015/16 to 2025/26. A change of 10% or more either way counts as growing or falling.
16 schools with figures for both years
Schools still filling their classes in 2015/16, and schools opened since, are listed separately.
Sort the table below by the change column to see which schools grew or fell most.
Newer schools
1 school still filling its classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 592 pupils. It isn’t in the figures above.
- Holy Family National SchoolCarlow · figures start 2025/26 592
Class sizes
Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to.
- Average class size
- 21.54
- Mainstream classes
- 189
- Classes of 30 or more
- 11
- Schools with a class of 30+
- 5
Teachers
Teachers in the 17 mainstream primary schools here, 2006/07 to 2025/26. Class teachers are counted every year; all teaching posts where they're known.
- Class teachers in 2025/26
- 189
- Up 57 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 19%
- Teaching posts in 2025/26
- about 300
- Estimate: 189 class teachers, 14 principals and deputies, 78 special education and 19 special class teachers
- Teachers in 2015/16
- 242
- The Department's last count of every teacher
- Since 2024/25
- 2 / 1
- 2 schools gained a class teacher, 1 lost one
Class teachers since 2006/07
One for each mainstream class, every school year
Special schools and special classes
2 special schools in the Carlow planning area, and the special classes in its 17 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.
- Pupils in special schools
- 176
- In 2 schools, up from 161 in 2015/16
- Special classes in 2025/26
- 19
- In 11 of 17 schools. 6 in 2020/21
- Allocated for 2026/27
- 22
- In 11 schools: 3 new classes
- Autism classes
- 17
- 89% of special classes
Special classes since 2020/21
In the Carlow planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists
- 2020/21 6
- 2021/22 6
- 2022/23 7
- 2023/24 10
- 2024/25 14
- 2025/26 19
- 2026/27 22
2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.
| Special school | Pupils | Since 2015/16 | Teaching posts | SNAs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Laserians Special SCCarlow · Mild general learning disability | 146 |
−2.0%
|
22 | 50 |
| Saplings Carlow Special SchoolCarlow · Autism | 30 |
+150.0%
|
5 | 17.5 |
Sources: Department of Education enrolment lists; NCSE special class lists and special school allocations (CC BY 4.0).
Schools
17 schools, largest first. A dash in the change column means the school had no pupils recorded in that year, usually because it opened later or took a new roll number after an amalgamation.
Select a column heading to sort
| Roll number | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family National SchoolCarlow | 20592Q | Carlow | 592 | ––– | 33 | 17.58 | 22 | 0 |
| S N Naomh FhiachGraiguecullen | 19958C | Carlow | 570 |
−1.0%
+7.8%
+54.1%
|
23 | 24.78 | 30 | 3 |
| Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí ThuairiscCeatharlach | 19811S | Carlow | 444 |
−4.9%
−7.3%
−5.5%
|
19 | 22.74 | 31 | 3 |
| Carlow Educate Together NSCarlow | 20295K | Carlow | 389 |
+0.8%
+61.4%
– |
16 | 23.56 | 27 | 0 |
| Scoil Chomhgain NaofaCarlow | 17617M | Laois | 380 |
−1.0%
+9.5%
+75.9%
|
16 | 23.12 | 27 | 0 |
| Bennekerry National SchoolBennekerry | 17501Q | Carlow | 377 |
−7.4%
−12.9%
+47.3%
|
16 | 23.56 | 28 | 0 |
| S N Muire gan SmalCarlow | 18363M | Carlow | 345 |
−10.9%
−21.1%
−18.1%
|
16 | 21.56 | 29 | 0 |
| Fr Cullen Memorial N STinryland | 16938E | Carlow | 231 |
+16.1%
+40.0%
+60.4%
|
9 | 24.33 | 32 | 2 |
| Ballinabranna MXD N SMilford | 17756D | Carlow | 184 |
−2.6%
+5.1%
+58.6%
|
7 | 25.43 | 30 | 2 |
| Bishop Foley Memorial School Boys SNR SCHStation Road | 17053P | Carlow | 165 |
−32.4%
−37.3%
−30.4%
|
8 | 19.88 | 27 | 0 |
| S N CeatharlachCarlow | 18615N | Carlow | 137 |
+6.2%
+3.8%
+14.2%
|
5 | 25.20 | 28 | 0 |
| Scoil Nais Iosef NaofaSt. Joseph's Road | 18424G | Carlow | 111 |
−0.9%
−35.5%
−34.7%
|
6 | 15.50 | 18 | 0 |
| Scoil Abbain CillinMaganey | 17557U | Laois | 99 |
−4.8%
+4.2%
+39.4%
|
5 | 19.80 | 31 | 1 |
| Scoil Naomh AbbanCrettyard | 17555Q | Laois | 73 |
+46.0%
+21.7%
+19.7%
|
3 | 22.33 | 23 | 0 |
| Ardlios N SBallickmoyler | 18532J | Laois | 50 |
−7.4%
−26.5%
−3.8%
|
3 | 14.67 | 21 | 0 |
| Scoil Mhuire MuigheoCrettyard | 17271C | Laois | 22 |
−33.3%
−43.6%
−26.7%
|
2 | 11.00 | 13 | 0 |
| Bhride N SCarlow | 18265M | Laois | 13 |
−18.8%
−31.6%
−35.0%
|
2 | 6.50 | 8 | 0 |
No schools match that filter.
Closed schools counted here
These schools closed after the Department started recording planning areas in 2023/24, so their earlier pupils are included in the trends above.
| School | Roll number | Last year | Pupils that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family B N STullow Road | 19477J | 2024/25 | 308 |
| Holy Family Girls N SAskea | 19478L | 2024/25 | 317 |