School planning area
Kilkenny
18 primary schools and 4,626 pupils in 2025/26, in County Kilkenny.
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 4,626
- −24 on 2024/25
- Since 2015/16
- +2.5%
- 4,515 pupils in 2015/16
- Schools
- 18
- −1 on 2024/25
- Average class size
- 23.63
- Average school size: 257.0
Trends in Kilkenny
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.
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 Kilkenny, schools with no planning area had 3.9% of pupils in 2015/16, 12.4% in 2005/06 and 33.9% in 1975/76. Known data issues
Pupils
4,626
−24 on 2024/25
Schools
18
14 in 1975/76
Average pupils per school
257.0
200.1 in 1975/76
Average class size
23.63
−0.20 on 2024/25
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. 547 in 2025/26, +28 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). 438 pupils in 2025/26, 9.5% of the area's pupils, against 9.7% 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.
17 schools with figures for both years
Schools still filling their classes in 2015/16, and schools opened since, are listed separately.
Average class size in these schools went from 26.4 in 2015/16 to 23.9 in 2025/26. 1 of the 2 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 Scoil Naomh IosephJenkinstown, Co. Kilkenny 67 → 127 +89.6%
- 2 Scoil Iognaid de RisKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 208 → 278 +33.7%
- 3 Church Hill Mixed N SCuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny 160 → 192 +20.0%
- 4 Kilkenny Mixed N SKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 165 → 198 +20.0%
- 5 Bennettsbridge National SchoolKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 193 → 206 +6.7%
Fallen most
Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26
- 1 S N MuireGowran, Co. Kilkenny 264 → 197 −25.4%
- 2 S N Tobair Eoin BaisdeJohnswell, Co. Kilkenny 55 → 45 −18.2%
- 3 Scoil MhuireKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 430 → 400 −7.0%
- 4 S N Naomh ColmainClara, Co. Kilkenny 217 → 204 −6.0%
- 5 S N Padraig NaofaKilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 346 → 331 −4.3%
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 441 pupils. It isn’t in the figures above.
- St. John's National SchoolKilkenny · figures start 2025/26 441
Class sizes
Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to.
- Average class size
- 23.63
- Mainstream classes
- 190
- Classes of 30 or more
- 7
- Schools with a class of 30+
- 6
Teachers
Teachers in the 18 mainstream primary schools here, 2006/07 to 2025/26. Class teachers are counted every year; all teaching posts where they're known.
- Class teachers in 2025/26
- 190
- Up 37 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 14%
- Teaching posts in 2025/26
- about 298
- Estimate: 190 class teachers, 15 principals and deputies, 70 special education and 23 special class teachers
- Teachers in 2015/16
- 237
- The Department's last count of every teacher
- Since 2024/25
- 2 / 2
- 2 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
3 special schools in the Kilkenny planning area, and the special classes in its 18 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.
- Pupils in special schools
- 249
- In 3 schools, up from 203 in 2015/16
- Special classes in 2025/26
- 23
- In 11 of 18 schools. 12 in 2020/21
- Allocated for 2026/27
- 28
- In 12 schools: 5 new classes, 1 school with its first
- Autism classes
- 17
- 74% of special classes
Special classes since 2020/21
In the Kilkenny planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists
- 2020/21 12
- 2021/22 14
- 2022/23 15
- 2023/24 17
- 2024/25 18
- 2025/26 23
- 2026/27 28
2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.
| Special school | Pupils | Since 2015/16 | Teaching posts | SNAs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Patricks Spec SCHKilkenny · Moderate general learning disability | 91 |
+23.0%
|
17 | 37 |
| School of the Holy Spirit Special SchoolKilkenny · Emotional and behavioural difficulties | 83 |
+7.8%
|
14 | 32 |
| Mother of Fair Love Spec SchoolKilkenny · Mild general learning disability | 75 |
+44.2%
|
10 | 17 |
Sources: Department of Education enrolment lists; NCSE special class lists and special school allocations (CC BY 4.0).
What parents would prefer
1,654 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Kilkenny planning area: 1,011 with children at its schools and 643 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.
- Households that answered
- 1,654
- 42% of households asked
- Prefer a multi-denominational patron
- 48% / 49%
- Children at school / not yet at school
- Prefer teaching through Irish
- 22% / 24%
- Children at school / not yet at school
- Prefer single-sex
- 6% / 8%
- 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
236 pupils (5%) in 1 school
Teaching through Irish
438 pupils (10%) in 1 school
Single-sex
661 pupils (14%) in 2 schools
Bars run from 0 to 50%.
Each school's parents
Parents of children at each school. Bold marks the school's set-up now.
| St Canices Central N SKilkenny | 648 | 162 of 466 | ±6.4 | 54% | 17% | 1% | 65 answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's National SchoolKilkenny | 441 | 70 of 306 | ±9.6 | 43% | 9% | 0% | 46 answered |
| Gaelscoil OsraiCill Chainnigh | 438 | 125 of 300 | ±7.3 | 47% | 91% | 1% | 78 answered |
| Scoil MhuireKilkenny | 400 | 74 of 313 | ±9.4 | 51% | 7% | 8% | 72 answered |
| S N Padraig NaofaKilkenny | 331 | 68 of 244 | ±9.8 | 37% | 12% | 29% | – |
| Scoil Naomh Eoin DeaKilkenny | 330 | 65 of 233 | ±10 | 34% | 15% | 29% | – |
| Scoil Iognaid de RisKilkenny | 278 | 83 of 219 | ±8.9 | 39% | 11% | 12% | – |
| Kilkenny School ProjectKilkenny | 236 | 75 of 167 | ±9.3 | 95% | 15% | 1% | – |
| Bennettsbridge National SchoolKilkenny | 206 | 67 of 136 | ±9.9 | 46% | 16% | 0% | – |
| S N Naomh ColmainClara | 204 | 41 of 92 | ±12.4 | 34% | 12% | 0% | – |
| Scoil LachtainFreshford | 201 | 46 of 99 | ±11.8 | 28% | 9% | 0% | – |
| Kilkenny Mixed N SKilkenny | 198 | 53 of 142 | ±11 | 62% | 13% | 2% | – |
| S N MuireGowran | 197 | 25 of 80 | ±15.6 | 52% | 8% | 0% | – |
| Church Hill Mixed N SCuffesgrange | 192 | 49 of 124 | ±11.4 | 39% | 18% | 0% | – |
| Scoil Naomh IosephJenkinstown | 127 | 28 of 60 | ±14.8 | 46% | 11% | 0% | – |
| S N Tulach RuainTullaroan | 91 | 32 of 63 | ±14 | 28% | 19% | 3% | – |
| St Michaels National SchoolDanesfort | 63 | 17 of 44 | ±18.5 | 53% | 6% | 0% | – |
| S N Tobair Eoin BaisdeJohnswell | 45 | 12 of 32 | ±21.4 | 50% | 8% | 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
18 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.
Select a column heading to sort
| Roll number | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Canices Central N SKilkenny | 19626A | 648 |
+0.5%
−1.2%
+24.4%
|
+24.4%
|
24 | 26.25 | 30 | 1 |
| St. John's National SchoolKilkenny | 20600M | 441 | ––– | – | 20 | 21.15 | 28 | 0 |
| Gaelscoil OsraiCill Chainnigh | 19856R | 438 |
−2.9%
+0.5%
+8.7%
|
+8.7%
|
18 | 24.00 | 29 | 0 |
| Scoil MhuireKilkenny | 19925K | 400 |
−6.8%
−7.0%
+0.3%
|
+0.3%
|
17 | 22.53 | 29 | 0 |
| S N Padraig NaofaKilkenny | 17854D | 331 |
−11.5%
−4.3%
+0.9%
|
+0.9%
|
14 | 22.36 | 28 | 0 |
| Scoil Naomh Eoin DeaKilkenny | 17314R | 330 |
+2.5%
−2.1%
−4.3%
|
−4.3%
|
14 | 23.57 | 32 | 2 |
| Scoil Iognaid de RisKilkenny | 17867M | 278 |
+41.8%
+33.7%
+56.2%
|
+56.2%
|
11 | 24.73 | 32 | 1 |
| Kilkenny School ProjectKilkenny | 19905E | 236 |
+1.7%
−1.3%
+1.3%
|
+1.3%
|
9 | 26.22 | 28 | 0 |
| Bennettsbridge National SchoolKilkenny | 16406R | 206 |
+5.1%
+6.7%
+23.4%
|
+23.4%
|
8 | 25.75 | 30 | 1 |
| S N Naomh ColmainClara | 16116I | 204 |
−8.5%
−6.0%
+8.5%
|
+8.5%
|
8 | 24.75 | 29 | 0 |
| Scoil LachtainFreshford | 00796U | 201 |
+2.0%
+6.3%
+24.8%
|
+24.8%
|
8 | 22.88 | 31 | 1 |
| Kilkenny Mixed N SKilkenny | 17218V | 198 |
−3.4%
+20.0%
+19.3%
|
+19.3%
|
8 | 24.75 | 28 | 0 |
| S N MuireGowran | 18064C | 197 |
−25.7%
−25.4%
+5.3%
|
+5.3%
|
8 | 23.12 | 27 | 0 |
| Church Hill Mixed N SCuffesgrange | 05927L | 192 |
+3.2%
+20.0%
+146.2%
|
+146.2%
|
8 | 22.50 | 25 | 0 |
| Scoil Naomh IosephJenkinstown | 18607O | 127 |
+44.3%
+89.6%
+149.0%
|
+149.0%
|
5 | 24.20 | 35 | 1 |
| S N Tulach RuainTullaroan | 18670V | 91 |
−11.7%
+1.1%
−15.0%
|
−15.0%
|
4 | 22.75 | 24 | 0 |
| St Michaels National SchoolDanesfort | 01300Q | 63 |
+28.6%
+34.0%
+142.3%
|
+142.3%
|
3 | 21.00 | 22 | 0 |
| S N Tobair Eoin BaisdeJohnswell | 17905R | 45 |
−29.7%
−18.2%
−10.0%
|
−10.0%
|
3 | 15.00 | 20 | 0 |
No schools match that filter.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Johns Infants N SKilkenny | 17108O | 2024/25 | 223 |
| St Johns Senior NSKilkenny | 20011Q | 2024/25 | 216 |