School planning area

Celbridge

8 primary schools and 3,000 pupils in 2025/26, in County Kildare.

Pupils in 2025/26
3,000
−67 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−3.5%
3,109 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
8
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
24.41
Average school size: 375.0

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

3,000

−67 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

8

5 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

375.0

140.0 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

24.41

−0.64 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. 292 in 2025/26, −73 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

8 schools with figures for both years

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

Average class size in these schools went from 27.1 in 2015/16 to 24.4 in 2025/26. 1 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.

Class sizes

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

Average class size
24.41
Mainstream classes
121
Classes of 30 or more
1
Schools with a class of 30+
1

Teachers

Teachers in the 8 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
121
Up 32 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 18%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 179
Estimate: 121 class teachers, 8 principals and deputies, 43 special education and 7 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
163
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

1 special school in the Celbridge planning area, and the special classes in its 8 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
96
In 1 school, up from 64 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
8
In 5 of 8 schools. 5 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
11
In 6 schools: 3 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
8
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 5
  • 2021/22 5
  • 2022/23 6
  • 2023/24 6
  • 2024/25 7
  • 2025/26 8
  • 2026/27 11

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special schools in the Celbridge planning area
Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
St Raphaels Special SCHCelbridge · Moderate general learning disability 96
+50.0%
16 48

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

What parents would prefer

1,084 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Celbridge planning area: 734 with children at its schools and 350 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
1,084
42% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
52% / 50%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
17% / 29%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
3% / 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

432 pupils (14%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 14%
  • Parents: children at school: 52%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 50%

Teaching through Irish

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 17%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 29%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 3%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 6%

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
Aghards N SCelbridge 660 190 of 504 ±5.9 57%16%2% 83 answered
Scoil na MainistreachCelbridge 455 137 of 336 ±7 38%14%7% 69 answered
North Kildare Educate Together NSCelbridge 432 138 of 291 ±6.9 92%13%1% 50 answered
Straffan N SNaas 401 84 of 265 ±8.8 40%19%0% –
Scoil Naomh PadraigCelbridge 374 116 of 260 ±7.5 47%12%3% 83 answered
St Annes National SchoolStraffan 329 63 of 211 ±10.1 40%14%2% –
Scoil Naomh BridCelbridge 240 46 of 155 ±11.8 22%22%24% –
Primrose Hill NSCelbridge 109 34 of 76 ±13.6 38%12%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

8 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
Aghards N SCelbridge 19794V 660
−5.4%
+5.4%
25 26.40 28 0
Scoil na MainistreachCelbridge 18551N 455
−16.8%
−23.3%
19 23.32 28 0
North Kildare Educate Together NSCelbridge 19995I 432
+57.1%
+71.4%
16 26.25 28 0
Straffan N SNaas 18644U 401
+30.2%
+120.3%
16 24.69 29 0
Scoil Naomh PadraigCelbridge 20257C 374
−3.4%
– 16 23.38 28 0
St Annes National SchoolStraffan 17674B 329
+20.5%
+105.6%
14 23.07 30 1
Scoil Naomh BridCelbridge 16566Q 240
−51.8%
−50.5%
10 23.00 27 0
Primrose Hill NSCelbridge 13819E 109
−11.4%
−10.7%
5 21.80 27 0