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School planning area

Fermoy

19 primary schools and 3,125 pupils in 2025/26, in County Cork.

Pupils in 2025/26
3,125
−64 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−2.2%
3,194 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
19
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
22.04
Average school size: 164.5

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

3,125

−64 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

19

15 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

164.5

135.1 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

22.04

−0.80 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.

Area figures by year (CSV) Each school by year (CSV)

Junior infants

Pupils starting school each year. Class-by-class figures start in 2020/21. 371 in 2025/26, +45 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). 328 pupils in 2025/26, 10.5% of the area's pupils, against 12.9% 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

18 schools with figures for both years

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

8fell by 10% or more
7within 10%
3grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 2Down 10 to 25% · 6Within 10% · 7Up 10 to 25% · 3Up 25% or more · 0

Average class size in these schools went from 26.3 in 2015/16 to 22.1 in 2025/26. 6 of the 8 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

Grown most

Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26

  1. 1 Watergrasshill N SWatergrasshill, Co. Cork 324 → 391 +20.7%
  2. 2 Rathcormac N SFermoy, Co. Cork 369 → 432 +17.1%
  3. 3 Bishop Murphy Memorial Boys Senior National SchoolFermoy, Co. Cork 98 → 112 +14.3%
  4. 4 SN MhuireBallyhooly, Co. Cork 155 → 167 +7.7%

Fallen most

Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26

  1. 1 Kilmagner N SFermoy, Co. Cork 76 → 52 −31.6%
  2. 2 S N MhuireAraglin, Co. Cork 72 → 56 −22.2%
  3. 3 Scoil Freastogail MuireFermoy, Co. Cork 302 → 236 −21.9%
  4. 4 Gaelscoil de hIdeMainistir Fheatmaí, Co. Cork 411 → 328 −20.2%
  5. 5 St Patrick's National SchoolGlanworth, Co. Cork 142 → 114 −19.7%

Ranked by percentage change. Only schools with 50 or more pupils in 2015/16 are ranked, leaving out any still filling their classes then, because a few pupils make a big percentage in a small or new school. An amalgamation, a new school nearby or smaller classes can also explain a big rise or fall.

Newer schools

1 school still filling its classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 78 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
22.04
Mainstream classes
136
Classes of 30 or more
7
Schools with a class of 30+
5

Teachers

Teachers in the 19 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
136
Up 59 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 56%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 233
Estimate: 136 class teachers, 11 principals and deputies, 64 special education and 22 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
179
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
2 / 1
2 schools 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 Fermoy planning area, and the special classes in its 19 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
19
In 1 school
Special classes in 2025/26
22
In 11 of 19 schools. 11 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
17
In 10 schools: 2 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
20
91% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 11
  • 2021/22 11
  • 2022/23 12
  • 2023/24 16
  • 2024/25 19
  • 2025/26 22
  • 2026/27 17

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
North Cork Community Special SchoolCork 19 – 4 8

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

What parents would prefer

962 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Fermoy planning area: 658 with children at its schools and 304 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
The Department's own results: All 314 areas (Excel)Interactive mapSummary report with county figures (PDF)
Households that answered
962
41% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
44% / 48%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
21% / 28%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
4% / 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

78 pupils (3%) in 1 school

  • 3%
  • 44%
  • 48%

Teaching through Irish

328 pupils (11%) in 1 school

  • 11%
  • 21%
  • 28%

Single-sex

348 pupils (11%) in 2 schools

  • 11%
  • 4%
  • 6%

Bars run from 0 to 50%.

Each school's parents

Parents of children at each school. Bold marks the school's set-up now.
Rathcormac N SFermoy 432 99 of 289 ±8.2 39%8%1% 47 answered
Watergrasshill N SWatergrasshill 391 81 of 257 ±9 52%10%1% 43 answered
Gaelscoil de hIdeMainistir Fheatmaí 328 80 of 232 ±9 42%89%4% 47 answered
Scoil MháirtinKilworth 291 53 of 151 ±11 51%17%0% –
Scoil Freastogail MuireFermoy 236 67 of 178 ±9.9 45%7%18% –
Castlelyons B N SCastlelyons 194 54 of 130 ±10.9 39%20%2% –
SN MhuireBallyhooly 167 29 of 105 ±14.6 52%17%0% –
S N Naomh CaitrionaConna 149 47 of 102 ±11.7 45%15%0% –
Grange Fermoy N SFermoy 134 38 of 93 ±12.9 47%16%3% –
St Patrick's National SchoolGlanworth 114 24 of 72 ±15.9 38%12%0% –
Bishop Murphy Memorial Boys Senior National SchoolFermoy 112 31 of 97 ±14.2 42%3%19% –
Scoil ChaitrionaMallow 111 37 of 70 ±13.1 30%8%0% –
Iosef NaofaFermoy 90 23 of 60 ±16.2 17%0%0% –
Bartlemy N SFermoy 89 38 of 58 ±12.9 37%8%0% –
Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, ClondulaneFermoy 80 25 of 55 ±15.6 68%20%8% –
Fermoy Educate Together NSFermoy 78 21 of 57 ±16.9 90%14%5% –
S N MhuireAraglin 56 16 of 31 ±19 31%38%0% –
Kilmagner N SFermoy 52 12 of 33 ±21.4 25%8%0% –
Fermoy Adair N SFermoy 21 8 of 18 ±25.1 62%12%12% –

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

19 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
Rathcormac N SFermoy 17609N 432
+17.1%
+178.7%
18 24.00 30 1
Watergrasshill N SWatergrasshill 16271U 391
+20.7%
+103.6%
17 22.29 30 1
Gaelscoil de hIdeMainistir Fheatmaí 19851H 328
−20.2%
+19.7%
14 23.00 34 2
Scoil MháirtinKilworth 20204E 291
−2.3%
– 12 23.33 28 0
Scoil Freastogail MuireFermoy 17868O 236
−21.9%
−11.6%
10 20.70 28 0
Castlelyons B N SCastlelyons 01867W 194
−10.2%
+35.7%
8 22.50 29 0
SN MhuireBallyhooly 19404F 167
+7.7%
+51.8%
7 22.57 29 0
S N Naomh CaitrionaConna 17528N 149
−3.2%
+33.0%
6 24.83 31 2
Grange Fermoy N SFermoy 15594Q 134
−4.3%
+4.7%
5 24.80 29 0
St Patrick's National SchoolGlanworth 18196T 114
−19.7%
+8.6%
5 22.80 27 0
Bishop Murphy Memorial Boys Senior National SchoolFermoy 16683U 112
+14.3%
+15.5%
5 20.00 27 0
Scoil ChaitrionaMallow 18472R 111
−5.9%
+91.4%
4 27.75 30 1
Iosef NaofaFermoy 18377A 90
−4.3%
+143.2%
5 15.60 22 0
Bartlemy N SFermoy 15701O 89
−16.0%
+20.3%
4 20.75 23 0
Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, ClondulaneFermoy 17955J 80
−9.1%
+158.1%
4 20.00 24 0
Fermoy Educate Together NSFermoy 20511N 78 – – 4 19.50 21 0
S N MhuireAraglin 17761T 56
−22.2%
+24.4%
3 18.67 20 0
Kilmagner N SFermoy 11337W 52
−31.6%
−10.3%
3 15.33 17 0
Fermoy Adair N SFermoy 10523O 21
−32.3%
−36.4%
2 10.50 13 0