School planning area

Mallow

14 primary schools and 2,579 pupils in 2025/26, in County Cork.

Pupils in 2025/26
2,579
−53 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−7.4%
2,785 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
14
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
22.46
Average school size: 184.2

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

2,579

−53 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

14

12 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

184.2

187.5 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

22.46

−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. 301 in 2025/26, +47 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). 412 pupils in 2025/26, 16.0% of the area's pupils, against 13.5% 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.

9fell by 10% or more
3within 10%
1grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 3Down 10 to 25% · 6Within 10% · 3Up 10 to 25% · 0Up 25% or more · 1

Average class size in these schools went from 26.1 in 2015/16 to 22.4 in 2025/26. 4 of the 9 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 202 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
22.46
Mainstream classes
109
Classes of 30 or more
10
Schools with a class of 30+
7

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
109
Up 37 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 36%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 196
Estimate: 109 class teachers, 11 principals and deputies, 53 special education and 23 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
158
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
1 / 2
1 school 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

0 special schools in the Mallow 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
23
In 9 of 14 schools. 11 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
25
In 10 schools: 2 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
19
83% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 11
  • 2021/22 14
  • 2022/23 15
  • 2023/24 17
  • 2024/25 18
  • 2025/26 23
  • 2026/27 25

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

903 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Mallow planning area: 638 with children at its schools and 265 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
903
39% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
43% / 43%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
22% / 30%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
8% / 7%
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

202 pupils (8%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 8%
  • Parents: children at school: 43%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 43%

Teaching through Irish

412 pupils (16%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 16%
  • Parents: children at school: 22%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 30%

Single-sex

458 pupils (18%) in 2 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 18%
  • Parents: children at school: 8%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 7%

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
Scoil GhobnatanMallow 470 125 of 333 ±7.3 51%8%2% 32 answered
Gael Scoil Thomais DaibhisMagh Ealla 412 120 of 285 ±7.4 40%86%2% 45 answered
Convent Girls Senior National SchoolMallow 246 76 of 210 ±9.3 42%4%38% –
S N Naomh Padraig Boys Senior SchoolMallow 212 48 of 183 ±11.6 38%4%33% –
S N Dhrom AthainMallow 207 47 of 129 ±11.7 40%13%6% –
Mallow Community National SchoolMallow 202 41 of 157 ±12.4 76%12%7% –
S N IosagainMallow 133 36 of 126 ±13.2 47%11%14% –
S N RathainMallow 125 33 of 81 ±13.8 36%6%0% –
S N Moing na MiolMallow 113 43 of 83 ±12.2 49%16%2% –
Ballyclough Mixed N SMallow 111 20 of 53 ±17.3 30%5%0% –
Killavullen N SMallow 109 32 of 73 ±14 34%6%0% –
St. Abbey's National SchoolMallow 95 20 of 67 ±17.3 20%10%0% –
SN Ath na LiontaMallow 78 15 of 33 ±19.5 27%7%0% –
Burnfort N SMallow 66 20 of 40 ±17.3 35%20%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
Scoil GhobnatanMallow 19256Q 470
−19.1%
+9.6%
20 22.05 32 2
Gael Scoil Thomais DaibhisMagh Ealla 19886D 412
+9.9%
+88.1%
16 25.75 32 2
Convent Girls Senior National SchoolMallow 16159D 246
−17.4%
+30.2%
10 21.60 33 1
S N Naomh Padraig Boys Senior SchoolMallow 17887S 212
+1.0%
+21.1%
8 25.00 32 1
S N Dhrom AthainMallow 13779S 207
−13.0%
+45.8%
9 23.00 32 1
Mallow Community National SchoolMallow 20440Q 202 – – 8 23.75 27 0
S N IosagainMallow 18883P 133
−30.0%
+38.5%
6 19.17 22 0
S N RathainMallow 17533G 125
+123.2%
+42.0%
5 25.00 33 2
S N Moing na MiolMallow 17921P 113
−5.0%
+242.4%
5 20.40 22 0
Ballyclough Mixed N SMallow 07006A 111
−15.9%
+33.7%
5 19.80 25 0
Killavullen N SMallow 15903D 109
−24.8%
+5.8%
5 21.00 28 0
St. Abbey's National SchoolMallow 17823P 95
−37.1%
−20.8%
4 23.00 32 1
SN Ath na LiontaMallow 13483U 78
−11.4%
+77.3%
4 19.50 26 0
Burnfort N SMallow 11249C 66
−50.7%
+8.2%
4 16.50 23 0