Holy Family Senior School
Portlaoise · Roll number 20480F
- Catholic ethos
- Not DEIS
- Ordinary with Special Classes
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 644
- +1 on 2024/25
- Figures start
- 2016/17
- With 659 pupils. A new roll number like this often follows an amalgamation.
- Girls and boys
- 319 / 325
- 50% girls
Pupils since 2016
Total enrolment each school year
Pupils by class
Published for each class from 2020/21.
This year, 2025/26
644 pupils across 8 classes
Every class, every year
Darker cells have more pupils. A group of pupils moves down one class and right one year.
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Infants | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0.0 |
| Senior Infants | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0.0 |
| 1st Class | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2nd Class | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0.0 |
| 3rd Class | 162 | 163 | 152 | 168 | 155 | 153 | 158.8 |
| 4th Class | 186 | 160 | 160 | 157 | 166 | 158 | 164.5 |
| 5th Class | 166 | 187 | 159 | 158 | 154 | 171 | 165.8 |
| 6th Class | 174 | 168 | 186 | 161 | 156 | 162 | 167.8 |
JI and SI are Junior and Senior Infants.
Started Junior Infants in 2020/21
155 in 3rd Class (2024/25), 158 in 4th Class (2025/26): 3 pupils more.
- 1553rd Class2024/25
- 1584th Class2025/26
In 3rd Class in 2023/24
168 in 3rd Class (2023/24), 171 in 5th Class (2025/26): 3 pupils more.
- 1683rd Class2023/24
- 1664th Class2024/25
- 1715th Class2025/26
In 3rd Class in 2022/23
152 in 3rd Class (2022/23), 162 in 6th Class (2025/26): 10 pupils more.
- 1523rd Class2022/23
- 1574th Class2023/24
- 1545th Class2024/25
- 1626th Class2025/26
In 3rd Class in 2021/22
163 in 3rd Class (2021/22), 156 in 6th Class (2024/25): 7 pupils fewer.
- 1633rd Class2021/22
- 1604th Class2022/23
- 1585th Class2023/24
- 1566th Class2024/25
In 3rd Class in 2020/21
162 in 3rd Class (2020/21), 161 in 6th Class (2023/24): 1 pupil fewer.
- 1623rd Class2020/21
- 1604th Class2021/22
- 1595th Class2022/23
- 1616th Class2023/24
In 4th Class in 2020/21
186 in 4th Class (2020/21), 186 in 6th Class (2022/23): no change.
- 1864th Class2020/21
- 1875th Class2021/22
- 1866th Class2022/23
In 5th Class in 2020/21
166 in 5th Class (2020/21), 168 in 6th Class (2021/22): 2 pupils more.
- 1665th Class2020/21
- 1686th Class2021/22
Biggest one-year changes in a class
- +215th Class in 2021/22 (166 to 187)
- −285th Class in 2022/23 (187 to 159)
Class sizes
Mainstream class groups, 2016/17 to 2025/26.
Why these won't match pupils by class
Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to. So these figures won't match the pupils-by-class figures exactly.
In 2025/26. Choose a figure to chart it.
Class sizes over time
Average class size, 2016/17 to 2025/26
Teachers
Who teaches at Holy Family Senior School, 2016/17 to 2025/26.
How we count teachers
Class teachers come from the Department of Education's class sizes: one for each mainstream class. Special education and special class teachers are the posts the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates. We add a principal who doesn't teach a class where the Department's rules give the school one. These are posts, not people: part of a post can be a teacher shared with another school. Up to 2015/16 the Department counted every teacher itself. Known data issues
In 2025/26
42.9teaching posts
Our estimate: about 43 teachers.
- Class teachersOne for each of the 27 mainstream classes 27
- PrincipalRuns the school and doesn't teach a class 1
- Deputy principalDoesn't teach a class either, as larger schools and those with five or more special classes have one 1
- Special education teachers297.5 hours of support teaching a week 11.9
- Special class teachersFor 2 autism classes 2
13 special needs assistants (SNAs) also work with pupils. 12 pupils are in special classes, which the class sizes leave out.
The NCSE has allocated 12 special education teachers, 3 special class teachers and 15 SNAs for next year.
Teachers since 2016/17
Teachers each school year, by role
From 2019/20: our estimate, from class sizes and the NCSE's allocations. Dashed boxes: no special education figures were published for those years, so only class teachers and the principal are shown. Known data issues
Sources: Department of Education class sizes and teacher counts; NCSE school allocations and special classes (CC BY 4.0).
Nearby schools
The 6 primary schools closest to Holy Family Senior School, measured in a straight line. Pupil numbers are for 2025/26.
| Number on map | School | Distance | Pupils | Since 2015/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Senior SchoolThis school | – | 644 | – | |
| 1 | Holy Family Junior School0.1 km · Portlaoise | 0.1 km | 599 | – |
| 2 | Portlaoise Educate Together NS0.5 km · Portlaoise · Multi-denominational | 0.5 km | 457 |
+29.1%
|
| 3 | Gaelscoil Phort Laoise0.6 km · Portlaoise · Gaelscoil | 0.6 km | 369 |
+24.2%
|
| 4 | Maryboro N S0.6 km · Portlaoise · Church of Ireland | 0.6 km | 96 |
−1.0%
|
| 5 | Scoil Bhride NS2.7 km · Portlaoise · DEIS | 2.7 km | 727 |
−3.8%
|
| 6 | Fraoch Mor N S4.6 km · Laois | 4.6 km | 212 |
−6.6%
|
About this school
Inspection reports open on gov.ie, under the name the school had when it was inspected. They describe specific areas of the school's work rather than giving an overall grade. Newer schools may not have one yet.
Contact
- Principal
- Dermot O'Connor
- Phone
- 0578671564
- [email protected]
- Address
- Aughnaharna, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, R32 N8C2
School
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Patron
- Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin
- School type
- Ordinary with Special Classes
- School level
- Senior
- DEIS
- Not DEIS
Language and area
- Irish classification
- No subjects through Irish
- Gaeltacht
- Non-Gaeltacht
- Island
- Not on an island
- Local authority
- Laois County Council
- Planning area
- Portlaoise
Each detail is the latest one the Department of Education has recorded for this school. If a detail was left blank in 2025/26, we show it from an earlier year, so some details may be older than the pupil numbers. Known data issues
Data by year
10 school years from 2016/17 to 2025/26. Class figures start in 2020/21.
| Year | Total | Girls | Boys | JI | SI | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 644 | 319 | 325 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 158 | 171 | 162 |
| 2024/25 | 643 | 321 | 322 | – | – | – | – | 155 | 166 | 154 | 156 |
| 2023/24 | 656 | 318 | 338 | – | – | – | – | 168 | 157 | 158 | 161 |
| 2022/23 | 669 | 326 | 343 | – | – | – | – | 152 | 160 | 159 | 186 |
| 2021/22 | 690 | 336 | 354 | – | – | – | – | 163 | 160 | 187 | 168 |
| 2020/21 | 699 | 347 | 352 | – | – | – | – | 162 | 186 | 166 | 174 |
| 2019/20 | 743 | 366 | 377 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018/19 | 752 | 378 | 374 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2017/18 | 708 | 358 | 350 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2016/17 | 659 | 335 | 324 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |