School planning area

Macroom

10 primary schools and 1,225 pupils in 2025/26, in County Cork.

Pupils in 2025/26
1,225
+3 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+3.6%
1,183 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
10
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
21.11
Average school size: 122.5

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

1,225

+3 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

10

10 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

122.5

103.5 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

21.11

−0.37 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. 139 in 2025/26, −3 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

10 schools with figures for both years

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

Average class size in these schools went from 25.2 in 2015/16 to 21.1 in 2025/26. 3 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.

Class sizes

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

Average class size
21.11
Mainstream classes
55
Classes of 30 or more
4
Schools with a class of 30+
2

Teachers

Teachers in the 10 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
55
Up 15 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 27%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 94
Estimate: 55 class teachers, 4 principals and deputies, 24 special education and 11 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
71
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 Macroom planning area, and the special classes in the 10 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
11
In 3 of 10 schools. 9 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
11
In 3 schools
Autism classes
9
82% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 9
  • 2021/22 9
  • 2022/23 10
  • 2023/24 11
  • 2024/25 11
  • 2025/26 11
  • 2026/27 11

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

441 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Macroom planning area: 332 with children at its schools and 109 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
441
41% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
46% / 42%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
19% / 31%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
3% / 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

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 46%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 42%

Teaching through Irish

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 19%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 31%

Single-sex

492 pupils (40%) in 2 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 40%
  • Parents: children at school: 3%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 8%

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
Macroom Convent N SMacroom 306 84 of 218 ±8.8 39%19%10% –
Clondrohid N SMacroom 276 72 of 196 ±9.5 51%15%0% 40 answered
Macroom Boys Senior National SchoolMacroom 186 56 of 158 ±10.7 45%11%11% –
S N Cill Mhuire BLisardagh 169 53 of 104 ±11 36%13%0% –
Tirelton N S MXDMacroom 71 15 of 39 ±19.5 40%20%0% –
Ballinagree MXD N SMacroom 68 24 of 42 ±15.9 46%12%4% –
S N na Mona FlicheMacroom 49 13 of 35 ±20.8 62%8%0% –
Dromleigh N SMacroom 46 16 of 32 ±19 38%25%0% –
Kilbarry N SMacroom 31 5 of 25 ±29.6 60%20%0% –
S N Carraig an ImeMacroom 23 5 of 16 ±29.6 60%60%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

10 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
Macroom Convent N SMacroom 10047I 306
−3.8%
+10.1%
13 23.54 35 1
Clondrohid N SMacroom 14839P 276
+23.8%
+135.9%
11 23.00 33 3
Macroom Boys Senior National SchoolMacroom 15597W 186
+20.8%
+40.9%
8 20.38 27 0
S N Cill Mhuire BLisardagh 17972J 169
−1.2%
+22.5%
7 21.57 27 0
Tirelton N S MXDMacroom 13286S 71
−15.5%
+4.4%
4 17.75 21 0
Ballinagree MXD N SMacroom 15140A 68
+74.4%
+300.0%
3 22.67 24 0
S N na Mona FlicheMacroom 16955E 49
−27.9%
+53.1%
3 16.33 21 0
Dromleigh N SMacroom 01687U 46
−27.0%
−39.5%
2 23.00 26 0
Kilbarry N SMacroom 12505W 31
−22.5%
−46.6%
2 15.50 16 0
S N Carraig an ImeMacroom 17079K 23
0.0%
+21.1%
2 11.50 12 0