School planning area

Rathfarnham

Name: Primary school enrolment in the Rathfarnham planning area
Creator: Department of Education

11 primary schools and 3,792 pupils in 2025/26, in County Dublin.

Pupils in 2025/26: 3,792; −100 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16: −5.6%; 4,016 pupils in 2015/16
Schools: 11; No change on 2024/25
Average class size: 23.44; Average school size: 344.7

Trends in Rathfarnham

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.

Earlier years are incomplete

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 Dublin, schools with no planning area had 1.5% of pupils in 2015/16, 5.3% in 2005/06 and 36.8% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

3,792

−100 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

5 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

344.7

416.2 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

23.44

−0.23 on 2024/25

2006/072025/26

Pupils in these schools

Junior infants, girls and boys, and Irish-medium schools over time, for the same schools as the trends above.

Area figures by year (CSV) Each school by year (CSV)

Junior infants

Pupils starting school each year. Class-by-class figures start in 2020/21. 472 in 2025/26, +53 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). 233 pupils in 2025/26, 6.1% of the area's pupils, against 5.9% 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.

Every school's change

11 schools with figures for both years

4fell by 10% or more

6within 10%

1grew by 10% or more

Down 25% or more · 0Down 10 to 25% · 4Within 10% · 6Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 0

Sort the table below by the change column to see which schools grew or fell most.

Class sizes

Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to.

Average class size: 23.44
Mainstream classes: 159
Classes of 30 or more: 4
Schools with a class of 30+: 3

Teachers

Teachers in the 11 mainstream primary schools here, 2006/07 to 2025/26. Class teachers are counted every year; all teaching posts where they're known.

How we count teachers

Class teachers in 2025/26: 159; Up 21 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 1%
Teaching posts in 2025/26: about 245; Estimate: 159 class teachers, 12 principals and deputies, 63 special education and 11 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16: 223; The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25: 0 / 3; 0 schools gained a class teacher, 3 lost one

Class teachers since 2006/07

One for each mainstream class, every school year

Special schools and special classes

1 special school in the Rathfarnham planning area, and the special classes in its 11 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools

Pupils in special schools: 30; In 1 school, up from 21 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26: 11; In 6 of 11 schools. 7 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27: 13; In 7 schools: 2 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes: 6; 55% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

In the Rathfarnham planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists

2020/21 7
2021/22 8
2022/23 8
2023/24 8
2024/25 9
2025/26 11
2026/27 13

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special schools in the Rathfarnham planning area
Special school	Pupils	Since 2015/16	Teaching posts	SNAs
Saplings Special SchoolDublin 16 · Autism	30	+42.9%	6	25

Sources: Department of Education enrolment lists; NCSE special class lists and special school allocations (CC BY 4.0).

Schools

11 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.

Change over

Select a column heading to sort

	Roll number
St Colmcille Senior N SDublin 16	19742C	744	+4.9%	29	25.66	27	0
Scoil Colmcille NaofaDublin 16	19474D	721	−11.5%	29	24.66	26	0
St Patrick GNSDublin 16	19114T	472	−8.5%	20	23.35	30	1
Ballyroan B N SDublin 16	03359N	375	+5.3%	16	23.44	31	2
Scoil Mhuire BoysDublin 14	19446V	367	−19.9%	16	22.94	28	0
Gaelscoil Chnoc LiamhnaBaile Átha Cliath 16	20043G	233	−1.3%	9	25.89	29	0
Rathfarnham Parish N SDublin 14	14939T	215	−7.3%	8	26.88	30	1
Scoil Naisiunta an Dea AoireDublin 14	19939V	209	+15.5%	9	19.89	25	0
Whitechurch Nat SchoolDublin 16	11638N	194	+6.0%	8	23.50	25	0
Scoil MhuireDublin 16	19490B	187	−22.1%	11	15.36	23	0
S N Bhaile EamonnDublin 16	17953F	75	−16.7%	4	18.75	23	0