Planning area in Kildare

Blessington

Schools in County Kildare in this planning area.

This planning area also covers 1 school in Dublin and 8 schools in Wicklow. See the whole planning area

Schools
1
of 101 in Kildare
Pupils
308
1% of Kildare's pupils
Since 2015/16
+18.9%
259 pupils in 2015/16
Average school size
308.0
Kildare: 287.1
Average class size
23.69
Kildare: 23.56

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 Kildare, schools with no planning area had 1.6% of pupils in 2015/16, 5.5% in 2005/06 and 24.2% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

308

+3 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

1

1 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

308.0

133.0 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

23.69

+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.

Junior infants

Pupils starting school each year. Class-by-class figures start in 2020/21. 41 in 2025/26, +1 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

No school in this area teaches all subjects through Irish.

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

1 school with figures for both years

0fell by 10% or more
0within 10%
1grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 0Down 10 to 25% · 0Within 10% · 0Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 0

Average class size in these schools went from 25.9 in 2015/16 to 23.7 in 2025/26. A fall in pupils can mean smaller classes rather than fewer children wanting places. Smaller classes

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
23.69
Mainstream classes
13
Classes of 30 or more
1
Schools with a class of 30+
1

Teachers

Teachers in this 1 mainstream primary school 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
13
Up 4 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 21%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 18
Estimate: 13 class teachers, 1 principals and deputies, 4 special education and 0 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
15
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
0 / 0
0 schools gained a class teacher, 0 lost one

Class teachers since 2006/07

One for each mainstream class, every school year

What parents would prefer

496 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Blessington planning area: 342 with children at its schools and 154 with children not yet at school. Each said whether they would prefer co-educational or single-sex schooling, a denominational or multi-denominational patron, and teaching through Irish or English. These are the whole area's figures, across county lines: the Department doesn't split areas by county.

Compare with other areas
Households that answered
496
47% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
47% / 46%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
28% / 25%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
0% / 6%
Children at school / not yet at school

Preferences beside what the schools offer now

Share of pupils in schools of each kind in the area, and share of parents who would prefer it

  • Pupils in such schools now
  • Parents: children at school
  • Parents: children not yet at school

Multi-denominational patron

95 pupils (6%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 6%
  • Parents: children at school: 47%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 46%

Teaching through Irish

151 pupils (9%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 9%
  • Parents: children at school: 28%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 25%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 0%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 6%

Bars run from 0 to 50%.

Each school's parents

Parents of children at each school. Bold marks the school's set-up now.

Share of parents at each school who would prefer each
S N Rath MorNaas 308 77 of 204 ±9.2 53%21%0% –
S N Mhuire Senior SchoolBlessington 296 94 of 230 ±8.4 35%11%0% –
S N MuireBlessington 235 90 of 190 ±8.5 34%14%0% –
Blessington 1 N SBlessington 195 48 of 131 ±11.6 50%4%0% –
Gaelscoil na LochannaBaile Coimín 151 61 of 114 ±10.3 46%97%3% –
Moin an Bhealaigh N SBlessington 110 35 of 77 ±13.4 57%17%0% –
Kilbride N SBlessington 97 17 of 45 ±18.5 47%35%0% –
Blessington Educate Together NSBlessington 95 27 of 70 ±15.1 89%30%0% –
Lacken MXD N SBlessington 91 27 of 54 ±15.1 59%7%0% –
S N BriotasBrittas 57 15 of 41 ±19.5 47%27%7% –

Grey margins of error are 15 points or more: so few parents answered that the figures could be well off. “Too few to publish”: the Department held back the school's results, but its parents' answers still count in the area figures. Not yet at school: how many parents of children not yet at school chose the school, shown where 30 or more did. Special schools in the area are counted in the area figures above.

Source: Department of Education and Youth, Primary School Survey results, published 23 June 2026. The area figures count each household once, including parents at schools too small for their own results, so they aren't the school figures added up. About these figures

Schools

1 school, largest first.

Change over

Select a column heading to sort

Roll number
S N Rath MorNaas 01821V 308
+18.9%
+25.7%
13 23.69 30 1