School planning area
Kilkenny
18 primary schools and 4,626 pupils in 2025/26, in County Kilkenny.
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 4,626
- −24 on 2024/25
- Since 2015/16
- +2.5%
- 4,515 pupils in 2015/16
- Schools
- 18
- −1 on 2024/25
- Average class size
- 23.63
- Average school size: 257.0
Trends in Kilkenny
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 County Kilkenny, schools with no planning area had 3.9% of pupils in 2015/16, 12.4% in 2005/06 and 33.9% in 1975/76. Known data issues
Pupils
4,626
−24 on 2024/25
Schools
18
14 in 1975/76
Average pupils per school
257.0
200.1 in 1975/76
Average class size
23.63
−0.20 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. 547 in 2025/26, +28 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). 438 pupils in 2025/26, 9.5% of the area's pupils, against 9.7% 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.
17 schools with figures for both years
Schools still filling their classes in 2015/16, and schools opened since, are listed separately.
Grown most
Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26
- 1 Scoil Naomh IosephJenkinstown, Co. Kilkenny 67 → 127 +89.6%
- 2 Scoil Iognaid de RisKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 208 → 278 +33.7%
- 3 Church Hill Mixed N SCuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny 160 → 192 +20.0%
- 4 Kilkenny Mixed N SKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 165 → 198 +20.0%
- 5 Bennettsbridge National SchoolKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 193 → 206 +6.7%
Fallen most
Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26
- 1 S N MuireGowran, Co. Kilkenny 264 → 197 −25.4%
- 2 S N Tobair Eoin BaisdeJohnswell, Co. Kilkenny 55 → 45 −18.2%
- 3 Scoil MhuireKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 430 → 400 −7.0%
- 4 S N Naomh ColmainClara, Co. Kilkenny 217 → 204 −6.0%
- 5 S N Padraig NaofaKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 346 → 331 −4.3%
Ranked by percentage change. Only schools with 50 or more pupils in 2015/16 are ranked, leaving out any still filling their classes then, because a few pupils make a big percentage in a small or new school. An amalgamation or a new school nearby can also explain a big rise or fall.
Newer schools
1 school still filling its classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 441 pupils. It isn’t in the figures above.
- St. John's National SchoolKilkenny · figures start 2025/26 441
Class sizes
Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to.
- Average class size
- 23.63
- Mainstream classes
- 190
- Classes of 30 or more
- 7
- Schools with a class of 30+
- 6
Teachers
Teachers in the 18 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
- 190
- Up 37 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 14%
- Teaching posts in 2025/26
- about 298
- Estimate: 190 class teachers, 15 principals and deputies, 70 special education and 23 special class teachers
- Teachers in 2015/16
- 237
- The Department's last count of every teacher
- Since 2024/25
- 2 / 2
- 2 schools gained a class teacher, 2 lost one
Class teachers since 2006/07
One for each mainstream class, every school year
Special schools and special classes
3 special schools in the Kilkenny planning area, and the special classes in its 18 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.
- Pupils in special schools
- 249
- In 3 schools, up from 203 in 2015/16
- Special classes in 2025/26
- 23
- In 11 of 18 schools. 12 in 2020/21
- Allocated for 2026/27
- 28
- In 12 schools: 5 new classes, 1 school with its first
- Autism classes
- 17
- 74% of special classes
Special classes since 2020/21
In the Kilkenny planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists
- 2020/21 12
- 2021/22 14
- 2022/23 15
- 2023/24 17
- 2024/25 18
- 2025/26 23
- 2026/27 28
2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.
| Special school | Pupils | Since 2015/16 | Teaching posts | SNAs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Patricks Spec SCHKilkenny · Moderate general learning disability | 91 |
+23.0%
|
17 | 37 |
| School of the Holy Spirit Special SchoolKilkenny · Emotional and behavioural difficulties | 83 |
+7.8%
|
14 | 32 |
| Mother of Fair Love Spec SchoolKilkenny · Mild general learning disability | 75 |
+44.2%
|
10 | 17 |
Sources: Department of Education enrolment lists; NCSE special class lists and special school allocations (CC BY 4.0).
Schools
18 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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Canices Central N SKilkenny | 19626A | 648 |
+0.5%
−1.2%
+24.4%
|
24 | 26.25 | 30 | 1 |
| St. John's National SchoolKilkenny | 20600M | 441 | ––– | 20 | 21.15 | 28 | 0 |
| Gaelscoil OsraiCill Chainnigh | 19856R | 438 |
−2.9%
+0.5%
+8.7%
|
18 | 24.00 | 29 | 0 |
| Scoil MhuireKilkenny | 19925K | 400 |
−6.8%
−7.0%
+0.3%
|
17 | 22.53 | 29 | 0 |
| S N Padraig NaofaKilkenny | 17854D | 331 |
−11.5%
−4.3%
+0.9%
|
14 | 22.36 | 28 | 0 |
| Scoil Naomh Eoin DeaKilkenny | 17314R | 330 |
+2.5%
−2.1%
−4.3%
|
14 | 23.57 | 32 | 2 |
| Scoil Iognaid de RisKilkenny | 17867M | 278 |
+41.8%
+33.7%
+56.2%
|
11 | 24.73 | 32 | 1 |
| Kilkenny School ProjectKilkenny | 19905E | 236 |
+1.7%
−1.3%
+1.3%
|
9 | 26.22 | 28 | 0 |
| Bennettsbridge National SchoolKilkenny | 16406R | 206 |
+5.1%
+6.7%
+23.4%
|
8 | 25.75 | 30 | 1 |
| S N Naomh ColmainClara | 16116I | 204 |
−8.5%
−6.0%
+8.5%
|
8 | 24.75 | 29 | 0 |
| Scoil LachtainFreshford | 00796U | 201 |
+2.0%
+6.3%
+24.8%
|
8 | 22.88 | 31 | 1 |
| Kilkenny Mixed N SKilkenny | 17218V | 198 |
−3.4%
+20.0%
+19.3%
|
8 | 24.75 | 28 | 0 |
| S N MuireGowran | 18064C | 197 |
−25.7%
−25.4%
+5.3%
|
8 | 23.12 | 27 | 0 |
| Church Hill Mixed N SCuffesgrange | 05927L | 192 |
+3.2%
+20.0%
+146.2%
|
8 | 22.50 | 25 | 0 |
| Scoil Naomh IosephJenkinstown | 18607O | 127 |
+44.3%
+89.6%
+149.0%
|
5 | 24.20 | 35 | 1 |
| S N Tulach RuainTullaroan | 18670V | 91 |
−11.7%
+1.1%
−15.0%
|
4 | 22.75 | 24 | 0 |
| St Michaels National SchoolDanesfort | 01300Q | 63 |
+28.6%
+34.0%
+142.3%
|
3 | 21.00 | 22 | 0 |
| S N Tobair Eoin BaisdeJohnswell | 17905R | 45 |
−29.7%
−18.2%
−10.0%
|
3 | 15.00 | 20 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Johns Infants N SKilkenny | 17108O | 2024/25 | 223 |
| St Johns Senior NSKilkenny | 20011Q | 2024/25 | 216 |