School planning area

Clonmel

14 primary schools and 2,965 pupils in 2025/26, in Counties Tipperary and Waterford.

Pupils in 2025/26
2,965
+101 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−1.5%
3,010 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
14
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
23.47
Average school size: 211.8

By county

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

Change over
Tipperary 13 2,810
+0.2%
+4.5%
Waterford 1 155
−25.1%
−8.3%

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 Tipperary and Waterford, schools with no planning area had 2.4% of pupils in 2015/16, 4.9% in 2005/06 and 45.6% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

2,965

+101 on 2024/25

1976/772025/26

Schools

14

12 in 1976/77

1976/772025/26

Average pupils per school

211.8

272.8 in 1976/77

1976/772025/26

Average class size

23.47

+0.49 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. 352 in 2025/26, +43 on 2024/25.

Girls and boys

Each school year.

Irish-medium schools

Pupils in schools that teach all subjects through Irish (1 school today). 315 pupils in 2025/26, 10.6% of the area's pupils, against 7.0% 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

3fell by 10% or more
7within 10%
4grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 2Down 10 to 25% · 1Within 10% · 7Up 10 to 25% · 2Up 25% or more · 2

Average class size in these schools went from 24.9 in 2015/16 to 23.5 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
23.47
Mainstream classes
124
Classes of 30 or more
10
Schools with a class of 30+
6

Teachers

Teachers in the 14 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
124
Up 11 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 3%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 194
Estimate: 124 class teachers, 9 principals and deputies, 52 special education and 9 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
170
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
3 / 2
3 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

1 special school in the Clonmel planning area, and the special classes in its 14 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
12
In 1 school, down from 14 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
9
In 5 of 14 schools. 6 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
10
In 6 schools: 1 new class, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
5
56% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 6
  • 2021/22 6
  • 2022/23 6
  • 2023/24 6
  • 2024/25 7
  • 2025/26 9
  • 2026/27 10

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special schools in the Clonmel planning area
Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
Coláiste Shliabh na mBanClonmel 12
−14.3%
– –

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

What parents would prefer

1,050 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Clonmel planning area: 765 with children at its schools and 285 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
1,050
42% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
41% / 45%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
23% / 30%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
12% / 10%
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: 41%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 45%

Teaching through Irish

315 pupils (11%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 11%
  • Parents: children at school: 23%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 30%

Single-sex

1,199 pupils (40%) in 4 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 40%
  • Parents: children at school: 12%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 10%

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
SN Mhuire na nAingealMary Street 407 123 of 321 ±7.3 40%8%36% –
Powerstown N SClonmel 338 119 of 227 ±7.5 43%11%1% 40 answered
St Oliver Plunketts NSClonmel 334 75 of 211 ±9.3 36%7%1% –
Gaelscoil Chluain MealaCluain Meala 315 119 of 233 ±7.5 50%95%3% 81 answered
St Peter and PaulClonmel 304 80 of 240 ±9 39%4%35% –
Presentation Primary SchoolClonmel 266 66 of 210 ±9.9 41%9%26% 40 answered
St Marys N SClonmel 222 68 of 181 ±9.8 31%12%18% –
S N CleireachainClonmel 202 62 of 136 ±10.2 39%15%2% –
Ballymacarberry N SVia Clonmel 155 64 of 97 ±10.1 31%20%0% –
S N Rath ChaomhghinClonmel 143 35 of 94 ±13.4 40%14%3% –
Lisronagh N SClonmel 106 35 of 73 ±13.4 43%17%0% –
S N Cill SiolainClonmel 90 18 of 65 ±18.1 39%17%0% –
St Marys Parochial SchoolClonmel 52 13 of 28 ±20.8 77%8%0% –
Killurney N SClonmel 31 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

14 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
SN Mhuire na nAingealMary Street 12349L Tipperary 407
−7.9%
−8.1%
16 25.44 29 0
Powerstown N SClonmel 17779P Tipperary 338
−3.4%
+38.0%
14 23.79 30 1
St Oliver Plunketts NSClonmel 19645E Tipperary 334
−8.5%
−38.7%
16 20.88 26 0
Gaelscoil Chluain MealaCluain Meala 20007C Tipperary 315
+48.6%
+49.3%
13 24.23 27 0
St Peter and PaulClonmel 16729S Tipperary 304
−2.9%
+10.9%
12 24.83 38 3
Presentation Primary SchoolClonmel 12180U Tipperary 266
−6.0%
+8.1%
11 22.36 31 2
St Marys N SClonmel 16728Q Tipperary 222
−4.3%
+26.9%
8 26.25 34 2
S N CleireachainClonmel 17486A Tipperary 202
+12.2%
+37.4%
8 23.75 29 0
Ballymacarberry N SVia Clonmel 19345P Waterford 155
−25.1%
−8.3%
7 22.14 30 1
S N Rath ChaomhghinClonmel 17542H Tipperary 143
+17.2%
+23.3%
6 23.83 34 1
Lisronagh N SClonmel 06789H Tipperary 106
+7.1%
+1.9%
4 26.50 29 0
S N Cill SiolainClonmel 18486F Tipperary 90
−30.8%
−23.7%
4 22.50 29 0
St Marys Parochial SchoolClonmel 17332T Tipperary 52
+52.9%
+30.0%
3 17.33 24 0
Killurney N SClonmel 13678M Tipperary 31
−24.4%
+29.2%
2 15.50 19 0