School planning area

Gort

14 primary schools and 1,136 pupils in 2025/26, in Counties Clare and Galway.

Pupils in 2025/26
1,136
−2 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+14.2%
995 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
14
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
21.73
Average school size: 81.1

By county

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

Change over
Galway 11 1,049
+15.4%
+140.6%
Clare 3 87
+1.2%
+33.8%

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 Counties Clare and Galway, schools with no planning area had 3.5% of pupils in 2015/16, 8.0% in 2005/06 and 31.0% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

1,136

−2 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

14

10 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

81.1

56.9 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

21.73

−0.47 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. 141 in 2025/26, −4 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). 41 pupils in 2025/26, 3.6% 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

13 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
2within 10%
7grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 4Down 10 to 25% · 0Within 10% · 2Up 10 to 25% · 2Up 25% or more · 5

Average class size in these schools went from 22.5 in 2015/16 to 21.7 in 2025/26. 2 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 44 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
21.73
Mainstream classes
52
Classes of 30 or more
7
Schools with a class of 30+
5

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
52
Up 23 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 130%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 77
Estimate: 52 class teachers, 1 principals and deputies, 23 special education and 1 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
64
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
1 / 0
1 school 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 Gort planning area, and the special classes in the 14 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
1
In 1 of 14 schools. 1 in 2021/22
Allocated for 2026/27
1
In 1 school
Autism classes
1
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2021/22

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

  • 2021/22 1
  • 2022/23 1
  • 2023/24 1
  • 2024/25 1
  • 2025/26 1
  • 2026/27 1

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

533 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Gort planning area: 349 with children at its schools and 184 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
533
44% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
39% / 42%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
17% / 25%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
1% / 3%
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

41 pupils (4%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 4%
  • Parents: children at school: 39%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 42%

Teaching through Irish

41 pupils (4%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 4%
  • Parents: children at school: 17%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 25%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 1%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 3%

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
Gort National SchoolGort 197 27 of 138 ±15.1 41%4%4% 32 answered
S N Ard RaithinArdrahan 176 41 of 116 ±12.4 24%27%0% –
S N Cill TartainGort Inse Guaire 117 33 of 74 ±13.8 30%18%0% –
Naomh Colman Mac DuaighGort 109 24 of 72 ±15.9 33%12%0% –
S N Aine NaofaGort 92 37 of 56 ±13.1 41%19%0% –
Lurga N SGort 91 18 of 61 ±18.1 22%17%0% –
S N Cill FheicinGort 69 21 of 47 ±16.9 57%5%0% –
S N MhuireArdrahan 58 13 of 33 ±20.8 23%8%0% –
S N Naomh ThomaisGaillimh 55 10 of 33 ±23.1 20%20%0% –
St Columba's National SchoolGort 44 16 of 30 ±19 44%6%0% –
Gaelscoil na bhFiliGort Inse Guaire 41 8 of 26 ±25.1 62%88%12% –
Tubber N SVia Galway 40 13 of 24 ±20.8 38%23%0% –
Boston N STubber 24 6 of 15 ±27.9 33%0%0% –
Dromindoora N.S.Feakle 23 5 of 13 ±29.6 40%0%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

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
Gort National SchoolGort 20465J Galway 197
+3.1%
– 9 21.89 30 2
S N Ard RaithinArdrahan 17007I Galway 176
+61.5%
+107.1%
7 25.14 31 2
S N Cill TartainGort Inse Guaire 17789S Galway 117
+27.2%
+207.9%
5 23.40 31 1
Naomh Colman Mac DuaighGort 19377F Galway 109
+43.4%
+113.7%
4 27.25 30 1
S N Aine NaofaGort 17475S Galway 92
+33.3%
+50.8%
4 21.50 30 1
Lurga N SGort 12574S Galway 91
+18.2%
+203.3%
4 22.75 29 0
S N Cill FheicinGort 14394D Galway 69
+11.3%
+27.8%
3 23.00 28 0
S N MhuireArdrahan 14642T Galway 58
−31.8%
−4.9%
3 19.33 25 0
S N Naomh ThomaisGaillimh 17502S Galway 55
−29.5%
−1.8%
3 18.33 21 0
St Columba's National SchoolGort 20491K Galway 44 – – 2 22.00 23 0
Gaelscoil na bhFiliGort Inse Guaire 20264W Galway 41
−41.4%
– 2 20.50 26 0
Tubber N SVia Galway 10886E Clare 40
+48.1%
+122.2%
2 20.00 21 0
Boston N STubber 10763L Clare 24
+9.1%
0.0%
2 12.00 13 0
Dromindoora N.S.Feakle 18950E Clare 23
−37.8%
0.0%
2 11.50 12 0