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School planning area

Waterford

30 primary schools and 7,676 pupils in 2025/26, in Counties Kilkenny and Waterford.

Pupils in 2025/26
7,676
−27 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+0.5%
7,641 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
30
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
21.83
Average school size: 255.9

By county

This planning area crosses county lines. Select a county to see its part of the area.

Change over
Waterford 24 6,944
+1.3%
Kilkenny 6 732
−7.1%

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 Counties Kilkenny and Waterford, schools with no planning area had 2.5% of pupils in 2015/16, 6.5% in 2005/06 and 38.4% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

7,676

−27 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

30

16 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

255.9

256.2 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

21.83

−0.56 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. 860 in 2025/26, +8 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 (2 schools today). 432 pupils in 2025/26, 5.6% 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

29 schools with figures for both years

Schools still filling their classes in 2015/16, and schools opened since, are listed separately.

8fell by 10% or more
16within 10%
5grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 1Down 10 to 25% · 7Within 10% · 16Up 10 to 25% · 3Up 25% or more · 2

Grown most

Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26

  1. 1 Waterford Educate Together NSCarrickphierish Road, Co. Waterford 227 → 386 +70.0%
  2. 2 Mount Sion CBS N SWaterford, Co. Waterford 295 → 360 +22.0%
  3. 3 St Pauls B N SWaterford, Co. Waterford 221 → 267 +20.8%
  4. 4 St Saviours NSWaterford, Co. Waterford 280 → 330 +17.9%
  5. 5 Presentation Primary SchoolWaterford, Co. Waterford 411 → 446 +8.5%

Fallen most

Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26

  1. 1 S N Seamus NaofaGlenmore, Co. Kilkenny 126 → 91 −27.8%
  2. 2 An Teaghlaigh Naofa Girls Junior National SchoolWaterford, Co. Waterford 302 → 234 −22.5%
  3. 3 Christ Church N SWaterford, Co. Waterford 139 → 114 −18.0%
  4. 4 St Stephens N SWaterford, Co. Waterford 425 → 363 −14.6%
  5. 5 Our Lady of Good Counsel GNSFerrybank, Co. Waterford 217 → 187 −13.8%

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 196 pupils. It isn’t in the figures above.

Class sizes

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

Average class size
21.83
Mainstream classes
344
Classes of 30 or more
14
Schools with a class of 30+
6

Teachers

Teachers in the 30 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
344
Up 87 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 15%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 539
Estimate: 344 class teachers, 27 principals and deputies, 132 special education and 36 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
430
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
5 / 1
5 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

3 special schools in the Waterford planning area, and the special classes in its 30 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
208
In 3 schools, up from 170 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
29
In 15 of 30 schools. 13 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
33
In 15 schools: 4 new classes
Autism classes
26
90% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 13
  • 2021/22 15
  • 2022/23 15
  • 2023/24 17
  • 2024/25 20
  • 2025/26 29
  • 2026/27 33

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
St Martins Special SCHWaterford · Moderate general learning disability 100
+42.9%
16 46.75
St Josephs Special SCHWaterford · Mild general learning disability 96
+7.9%
13.6 23.41
Jonah Special SchoolSlieverue · Autism 12
+9.1%
2 7

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

Schools

30 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
S N Naomh MhuireWaterford 17351A Waterford 641
−6.6%
24 26.21 29 0
S N Ursula NaofaWaterford 12535I Waterford 620
−11.8%
26 23.38 26 0
Presentation Primary SchoolWaterford 19955T Waterford 446
+8.5%
24 18.04 22 0
S N DeaglanWaterford 16976M Waterford 396
−9.2%
16 24.75 29 0
Waterford Educate Together NSCarrickphierish Road 20160K Waterford 386
+70.0%
16 23.38 26 0
St Stephens N SWaterford 15046I Waterford 363
−14.6%
18 19.83 25 0
Mount Sion CBS N SWaterford 19947U Waterford 360
+22.0%
16 21.38 23 0
Scoil Lorcain BNSWaterford 18462O Waterford 345
−5.0%
16 20.06 23 0
St Saviours NSWaterford 19511G Waterford 330
+17.9%
16 19.88 24 0
Our Lady of Mercy Senior P.S.Waterford 18689T Waterford 292
−3.9%
14 20.71 24 0
St Pauls B N SWaterford 20219R Waterford 267
+20.8%
16 15.94 20 0
S N Baile an BhuitléirighButlerstown 14679T Waterford 242
−4.3%
10 23.60 31 1
Scoil Naomh Eoin le DiaWaterford 18793O Waterford 237
−10.9%
9 26.33 31 3
Waterpark N SWaterford 20143K Waterford 235
−0.4%
10 23.50 30 5
An Teaghlaigh Naofa Girls Junior National SchoolWaterford 18509O Waterford 234
−22.5%
14 16.50 20 0
Gaelscoil na nDeisePort Láirge 20050D Waterford 225
−3.0%
10 21.30 29 0
S N Muire an Port MorWaterford 18235D Waterford 212
−1.4%
9 23.56 29 0
Slieverue Mixed N SSlieverue 12476S Kilkenny 208
−4.6%
9 23.11 30 2
Gaelscoil Phort LairgePort Láirge 19853L Waterford 207
−5.5%
8 25.88 30 1
S N Naomh Padraighvia Waterford 16875G Kilkenny 202
+3.1%
8 25.25 28 0
Réalt na Mara National SchoolDunmore East 20556M Waterford 196 – 8 24.50 28 0
S N Faiche LiagFaithlegg 18380M Waterford 196
−3.4%
8 24.50 28 0
Our Lady of Good Counsel GNSFerrybank 12007G Waterford 187
−13.8%
8 23.38 27 0
St. Senan's National SchoolVia Waterford 20443W Kilkenny 176
−9.3%
7 25.14 31 2
Christ Church N SWaterford 18681D Waterford 114
−18.0%
5 22.80 26 0
Newtown Junior SchoolWaterford City 20261Q Waterford 112
−8.2%
6 18.67 29 0
Passage East N SPassage East 14989L Waterford 101
+3.1%
4 22.25 27 0
S N Seamus NaofaGlenmore 18158L Kilkenny 91
−27.8%
4 20.00 24 0
Ringville National Schoolvia Waterford 06621P Kilkenny 35
−20.5%
3 11.67 16 0
Colmcille Mixed N SMullinavat 17911M Kilkenny 20
+100.0%
2 10.00 12 0