School planning area

Ballinamore

7 primary schools and 653 pupils in 2025/26, in Counties Cavan and Leitrim.

Pupils in 2025/26
653
−9 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+45.8%
448 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
7
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
21.50
Average school size: 93.3

By county

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

Change over
Leitrim 6 606
+46.4%
+83.1%
Cavan 1 47
+38.2%
−26.6%

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 Cavan and Leitrim, schools with no planning area had 1.2% of pupils in 2015/16, 7.0% in 2005/06 and 35.4% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

653

−9 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

7

4 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

93.3

76.0 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

21.50

−0.40 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. 78 in 2025/26, +4 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

6 schools with figures for both years

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

3fell by 10% or more
2within 10%
1grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 1Down 10 to 25% · 2Within 10% · 2Up 10 to 25% · 0Up 25% or more · 1

Average class size in these schools went from 22.4 in 2015/16 to 19.4 in 2025/26. 2 of the 3 schools that fell by 10% or more kept or added classes. 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.

Newer schools

1 school still filling its classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 237 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
21.50
Mainstream classes
30
Classes of 30 or more
4
Schools with a class of 30+
2

Teachers

Teachers in the 7 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
30
Up 11 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 50%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 46
Estimate: 30 class teachers, 2 principals and deputies, 12 special education and 2 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
28
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
1 / 1
1 school 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

0 special schools in the Ballinamore planning area, and the special classes in the 7 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
0
No special school here
Special classes in 2025/26
2
In 1 of 7 schools. 1 in 2022/23
Allocated for 2026/27
3
In 2 schools: 1 new class, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
2
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2022/23

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

  • 2022/23 1
  • 2023/24 1
  • 2024/25 1
  • 2025/26 2
  • 2026/27 3

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

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

What parents would prefer

269 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Ballinamore planning area: 159 with children at its schools and 110 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.

Compare with other areas
Households that answered
269
57% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
35% / 28%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
21% / 18%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
2% / 3%
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

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 35%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 28%

Teaching through Irish

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 21%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 18%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 2%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 3%

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
Scoil Chlann NaofaBallinamore 237 43 of 96 ±12.2 35%28%2% 40 answered
St BridsCarrick-on-Shannon 142 42 of 92 ±12.3 33%17%0% –
Naomh CaillinFenagh 115 39 of 64 ±12.7 38%23%3% –
Achadh na SileannBallinamore 47 17 of 31 ±18.5 41%24%6% –
St Patrick's NSC/O Belturbet Post Office 47 18 of 30 ±18.1 17%33%0% –
S N Naomh Mhuirevia Cavan 35 6 of 25 ±27.9 17%0%0% –
Aughawillan NSGaradice 30 9 of 16 ±24 11%22%0% –

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

7 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
Scoil Chlann NaofaBallinamore 20483L Leitrim 237 – – 9 26.33 32 3
St BridsCarrick-on-Shannon 19519W Leitrim 142
−16.0%
+31.5%
6 22.33 24 0
Naomh CaillinFenagh 15194A Leitrim 115
+6.5%
+12.7%
5 23.00 32 1
Achadh na SileannBallinamore 19365V Leitrim 47
−29.9%
−19.0%
3 15.67 19 0
St Patrick's NSC/O Belturbet Post Office 06998Q Cavan 47
+38.2%
−26.6%
3 15.67 20 0
S N Naomh Mhuirevia Cavan 19600F Leitrim 35
−16.7%
−2.8%
2 17.50 20 0
Aughawillan NSGaradice 16932P Leitrim 30
+7.1%
+11.1%
2 15.00 18 0