School planning area

Causeway

11 primary schools and 834 pupils in 2025/26, in County Kerry.

Pupils in 2025/26
834
−34 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−20.1%
1,044 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
11
−1 on 2024/25
Average class size
19.07
Average school size: 75.8

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 Kerry, schools with no planning area had 0.1% of pupils in 2015/16, 7.7% in 2005/06 and 27.3% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

834

−34 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

11

11 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

75.8

102.4 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

19.07

−0.42 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. 95 in 2025/26, +10 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

11 schools with figures for both years

7fell by 10% or more
1within 10%
3grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 6Down 10 to 25% · 1Within 10% · 1Up 10 to 25% · 0Up 25% or more · 3

Average class size in these schools went from 22.5 in 2015/16 to 19.1 in 2025/26. 4 of the 7 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.

Class sizes

Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to.

Average class size
19.07
Mainstream classes
42
Classes of 30 or more
2
Schools with a class of 30+
2

Teachers

Teachers in the 11 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
42
Up 4 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 2%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 70
Estimate: 42 class teachers, 2 principals and deputies, 20 special education and 6 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
62
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

Special schools and special classes

0 special schools in the Causeway planning area, and the special classes in the 11 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
6
In 4 of 11 schools. 2 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
7
In 5 schools: 1 new class, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
6
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 2
  • 2021/22 3
  • 2022/23 3
  • 2023/24 4
  • 2024/25 6
  • 2025/26 6
  • 2026/27 7

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

345 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Causeway planning area: 230 with children at its schools and 115 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
345
44% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
34% / 31%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
20% / 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: 34%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 31%

Teaching through Irish

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 20%
  • 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 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 Naomh ErcTralee 129 32 of 94 ±14 16%28%3% –
S N Sliabh A MhadraTralee 107 32 of 75 ±14 47%9%0% –
S N Treasa Naofa MXDKilflynn 105 35 of 69 ±13.4 34%6%3% –
S N Mhuire de LourdesLixnaw 104 40 of 74 ±12.6 25%7%0% –
Ballyduff National SchoolTralee 96 24 of 67 ±15.9 33%12%0% –
S N Cill LúraighTralee 93 29 of 68 ±14.6 34%14%0% –
S N Naomh EircArd Fhearta 78 15 of 37 ±19.5 27%33%13% –
Freastogail Mhuire MXDTralee 52 6 of 23 ±27.9 17%33%17% –
Scoil Naomh IosefTralee 38 8 of 13 ±25.1 12%25%12% –
S N Bhaile an ChrosaighTralee 18 Too few to publish – ––– –
Scoil Chriost RiTralee 14 Too few to publish – ––– –

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

11 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 Naomh ErcTralee 18590A 129
−8.5%
+27.7%
6 20.00 28 0
S N Sliabh A MhadraTralee 03132I 107
−35.9%
−15.7%
5 20.20 23 0
S N Treasa Naofa MXDKilflynn 15033W 105
−30.0%
+18.0%
5 21.00 24 0
S N Mhuire de LourdesLixnaw 10957B 104
+76.3%
+52.9%
4 26.00 32 1
Ballyduff National SchoolTralee 20478S 96
−12.7%
– 5 18.00 25 0
S N Cill LúraighTralee 18184M 93
+60.3%
+75.5%
4 23.25 30 1
S N Naomh EircArd Fhearta 17358O 78
−32.2%
−22.8%
4 19.50 29 0
Freastogail Mhuire MXDTralee 17915U 52
+44.4%
+92.6%
3 13.33 16 0
Scoil Naomh IosefTralee 18856M 38
−40.6%
−62.0%
2 19.00 21 0
S N Bhaile an ChrosaighTralee 09841V 18
−35.7%
−37.9%
2 9.00 12 0
Scoil Chriost RiTralee 18573A 14
−48.1%
−72.0%
2 7.00 10 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
Scoil Mhuire gan SmalLixnaw 18084I 2024/25 1