School planning area

Ballinteer–Stepaside–DLR

16 primary schools and 5,415 pupils in 2025/26, in County Dublin.

Pupils in 2025/26
5,415
−22 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+23.7%
4,379 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
16
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
23.74
Average school size: 338.4

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

5,415

−22 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

16

5 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

338.4

345.4 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

23.74

−0.34 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. 597 in 2025/26, −48 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 (3 schools today). 1,074 pupils in 2025/26, 19.8% of the area's pupils, against 15.6% 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

12 schools with figures for both years

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

5fell by 10% or more
6within 10%
1grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 2Down 10 to 25% · 3Within 10% · 6Up 10 to 25% · 0Up 25% or more · 1

Average class size in these schools went from 27.3 in 2015/16 to 23.8 in 2025/26. 3 of the 5 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

4 schools still filling their classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 1,552 pupils between them. They aren’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
23.74
Mainstream classes
225
Classes of 30 or more
16
Schools with a class of 30+
6

Teachers

Teachers in the 16 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
225
Up 107 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 72%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 331
Estimate: 225 class teachers, 16 principals and deputies, 77 special education and 13 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
234
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
4 / 3
4 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

0 special schools in the Ballinteer–Stepaside–DLR planning area, and the special classes in the 16 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
13
In 9 of 16 schools. 6 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
16
In 10 schools: 3 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
13
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

In the Ballinteer–Stepaside–DLR planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists

  • 2020/21 6
  • 2021/22 7
  • 2022/23 9
  • 2023/24 11
  • 2024/25 13
  • 2025/26 13
  • 2026/27 16

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

2,318 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Ballinteer–Stepaside–DLR planning area: 1,588 with children at its schools and 730 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
2,318
46% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
60% / 66%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
26% / 23%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
5% / 8%
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

1,740 pupils (32%) in 5 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 32%
  • Parents: children at school: 60%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 66%

Teaching through Irish

1,074 pupils (20%) in 3 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 20%
  • Parents: children at school: 26%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 23%

Single-sex

821 pupils (15%) in 3 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 15%
  • Parents: children at school: 5%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 8%

Bars run from 0 to 100%.

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
Holy Trinity National SchoolDublin 18 586 148 of 440 ±6.7 55%10%3% 50 answered
Stepaside Educate Together National SchoolDublin 18 542 172 of 410 ±6.2 92%8%2% 66 answered
Marley Grange NSDublin 16 461 143 of 319 ±6.8 54%10%0% 75 answered
Clochar Loreto N SDublin 14 445 156 of 361 ±6.5 47%17%31% 33 answered
Gaelscoil na FuinseoigeBác 14 441 149 of 263 ±6.7 89%96%0% 69 answered
Gaelscoil Thaobh na CoilleBaile Átha Cliath 18 402 174 of 271 ±6.2 48%95%1% 68 answered
Ballinteer Educate Together National SchoolDublin 16 399 114 of 303 ±7.6 90%7%1% 42 answered
St Attractas Senior N SDublin 16 371 139 of 312 ±6.9 62%12%0% –
St Attractas Junior N SDublin 16 337 138 of 283 ±6.9 47%9%0% 48 answered
St. Mary's National SchoolDublin 18 242 52 of 183 ±11.1 37%15%6% 67 answered
Scoil NaithiBaile Átha Cliath 16 231 60 of 142 ±10.4 52%97%0% 41 answered
Queen of Angels Primary SchoolDublin 16 224 32 of 165 ±14 59%9%6% –
Na Maighdine Muire GirlDublin 16 200 62 of 167 ±10.2 61%6%26% –
Rathfarnham Educate TogetherDublin 14 188 77 of 135 ±9.2 100%16%0% 44 answered
Scoil an Maighdine Mhuire BoysDublin 16 176 56 of 145 ±10.7 48%12%20% –
Goatstown Stillorgan Primary SchoolDublin 14 170 53 of 140 ±11 92%21%4% 123 answered

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

16 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
Holy Trinity National SchoolDublin 18 20190T 586
+37.6%
– 24 24.42 26 0
Stepaside Educate Together National SchoolDublin 18 20401G 542 – – 24 22.08 26 0
Marley Grange NSDublin 16 19574H 461
−7.6%
+0.9%
19 24.26 30 1
Clochar Loreto N SDublin 14 00729F 445
−13.6%
−15.7%
19 22.95 29 0
Gaelscoil na FuinseoigeBác 14 20487T 441 – – 17 25.59 31 5
Gaelscoil Thaobh na CoilleBaile Átha Cliath 18 20020R 402
−9.0%
+87.9%
17 23.65 28 0
Ballinteer Educate Together National SchoolDublin 16 20400E 399 – – 16 24.19 27 0
St Attractas Senior N SDublin 16 19716B 371
+6.9%
−3.1%
15 24.33 31 3
St Attractas Junior N SDublin 16 19537B 337
−2.6%
−6.9%
14 24.07 30 2
St. Mary's National SchoolDublin 18 02872U 242
−6.6%
+122.0%
10 24.20 30 1
Scoil NaithiBaile Átha Cliath 16 19437U 231
−4.1%
−0.4%
8 28.88 31 4
Queen of Angels Primary SchoolDublin 16 19723V 224
−10.8%
−31.9%
10 21.80 29 0
Na Maighdine Muire GirlDublin 16 19396J 200
−28.8%
+18.3%
9 21.56 28 0
Rathfarnham Educate TogetherDublin 14 19945Q 188
−15.7%
−16.4%
8 23.50 28 0
Scoil an Maighdine Mhuire BoysDublin 16 19314E 176
−29.3%
+12.8%
8 20.75 29 0
Goatstown Stillorgan Primary SchoolDublin 14 20523U 170 – – 7 23.43 28 0