School planning area

Bandon

15 primary schools and 2,533 pupils in 2025/26, in County Cork.

Pupils in 2025/26
2,533
−58 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−6.1%
2,697 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
15
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
22.40
Average school size: 168.9

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 Cork, schools with no planning area had 3.2% of pupils in 2015/16, 8.7% in 2005/06 and 29.9% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

2,533

−58 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

15

13 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

168.9

127.0 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

22.40

−0.14 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. 299 in 2025/26, +43 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 (1 school today). 157 pupils in 2025/26, 6.2% of the area's pupils, against 5.7% 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

14 schools with figures for both years

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

4fell by 10% or more
9within 10%
1grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 1Down 10 to 25% · 3Within 10% · 9Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 0

Average class size in these schools went from 26.2 in 2015/16 to 22.3 in 2025/26. 3 of the 4 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 401 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
22.40
Mainstream classes
109
Classes of 30 or more
7
Schools with a class of 30+
6

Teachers

Teachers in the 15 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
109
Up 20 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 11%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 187
Estimate: 109 class teachers, 11 principals and deputies, 48 special education and 19 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
152
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
0 / 2
0 schools gained a class teacher, 2 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 Bandon planning area, and the special classes in the 15 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
19
In 7 of 15 schools. 4 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
21
In 8 schools: 2 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
16
84% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 4
  • 2021/22 6
  • 2022/23 8
  • 2023/24 10
  • 2024/25 18
  • 2025/26 19
  • 2026/27 21

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

862 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Bandon planning area: 597 with children at its schools and 265 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
862
41% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
48% / 51%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
21% / 22%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
1% / 2%
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: 48%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 51%

Teaching through Irish

157 pupils (6%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 6%
  • Parents: children at school: 21%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 22%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 1%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 2%

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
Bandon Primary SchoolBandon 401 80 of 296 ±9 50%7%4% 152 answered
S N Inis EoghanainCo.Chorcaí 295 64 of 174 ±10.1 56%19%2% –
Kilbrittain Mixed N SKilbrittain 211 52 of 137 ±11.1 46%25%0% –
Newcestown N SBandon 196 59 of 116 ±10.5 49%15%2% –
St Marys Central SchoolEnniskeane 189 46 of 124 ±11.8 41%20%0% –
Scoil BhrideBandon 187 62 of 128 ±10.2 44%6%0% –
Laragh N SBandon 174 56 of 114 ±10.7 32%11%0% –
S N Droichead na BandanBandon 170 32 of 126 ±14 72%6%0% –
Ballyheeda N SBallinhassig 158 37 of 99 ±13.1 14%24%0% –
Gaelscoil Droichead na BanndanDroichead na Banndan 157 45 of 103 ±11.9 53%82%2% –
S N Cnoc an BhileInnishannon 141 31 of 92 ±14.2 39%13%0% –
Ballinadee N SBandon 95 30 of 55 ±14.4 47%17%0% –
S N Garran an EasaighKillbrittain 60 24 of 46 ±15.9 92%17%0% –
Castlealack N SBandon 56 8 of 40 ±25.1 75%12%0% –
S N an GharrainInnishannon 43 5 of 31 ±29.6 20%40%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

15 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
Bandon Primary SchoolBandon 20586V 401 – – 16 22.81 30 1
S N Inis EoghanainCo.Chorcaí 17168J 295
+2.4%
+10.5%
12 23.83 31 1
Kilbrittain Mixed N SKilbrittain 14116V 211
+17.2%
+32.7%
8 23.38 29 0
Newcestown N SBandon 19348V 196
−9.3%
+16.7%
8 23.62 32 1
St Marys Central SchoolEnniskeane 19595P 189
−1.6%
+8.0%
8 23.62 28 0
Scoil BhrideBandon 13375R 187
−15.0%
−9.2%
8 23.38 29 0
Laragh N SBandon 05477G 174
+8.8%
+50.0%
8 21.75 30 1
S N Droichead na BandanBandon 18431D 170
−18.7%
+3.0%
8 21.25 28 0
Ballyheeda N SBallinhassig 15550T 158
−7.1%
+22.5%
6 25.33 31 1
Gaelscoil Droichead na BanndanDroichead na Banndan 20025E 157
+1.9%
+28.7%
8 19.62 23 0
S N Cnoc an BhileInnishannon 04152T 141
−9.6%
+69.9%
6 23.50 30 2
Ballinadee N SBandon 09537S 95
−33.1%
−2.1%
4 23.75 26 0
S N Garran an EasaighP72 Yp78 18491V 60
−3.2%
+20.0%
3 20.00 25 0
Castlealack N SBandon 08972I 56
−21.1%
+12.0%
3 15.67 20 0
S N an GharrainInnishannon 18020F 43
+2.4%
−40.3%
3 14.33 17 0

Closed schools counted here

These schools closed after the Department started recording planning areas in 2023/24, so their earlier pupils are included in the trends above.

School Roll number Last year Pupils that year
Bandon Boys NSBandon 19977G 2023/24 186
Presentation ConventBandon 05257P 2023/24 196