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School planning area

Portlaoise

12 primary schools and 4,091 pupils in 2025/26, in County Laois.

Pupils in 2025/26
4,091
−12 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+54.7%
2,644 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
12
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
22.72
Average school size: 340.9

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 Laois, schools with no planning area had 13.7% of pupils in 2015/16, 18.2% in 2005/06 and 40.4% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

4,091

−12 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

12

6 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

340.9

66.8 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

22.72

−0.05 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. 455 in 2025/26, No change 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). 369 pupils in 2025/26, 9.0% of the area's pupils, against 11.2% 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

9 schools with figures for both years

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

0fell by 10% or more
5within 10%
4grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 0Down 10 to 25% · 0Within 10% · 5Up 10 to 25% · 3Up 25% or more · 1

Average class size in these schools went from 24.8 in 2015/16 to 22.3 in 2025/26. 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

3 schools still filling their classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 1,700 pupils between them. They aren’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
22.72
Mainstream classes
176
Classes of 30 or more
3
Schools with a class of 30+
3

Teachers

Teachers in the 12 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
176
Up 124 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 219%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 283
Estimate: 176 class teachers, 13 principals and deputies, 79 special education and 15 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

2 special schools in the Portlaoise planning area, and the special classes in its 12 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
170
In 2 schools, up from 125 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
15
In 9 of 12 schools. 12 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
18
In 9 schools: 3 new classes
Autism classes
12
80% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 12
  • 2021/22 12
  • 2022/23 12
  • 2023/24 12
  • 2024/25 12
  • 2025/26 15
  • 2026/27 18

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
St Francis S SPortlaoise · Mild general learning disability 121
+28.7%
19 33
The Kolbe Special SchoolPortlaoise · Severe or profound general learning disability 49
+58.1%
8 32

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

What parents would prefer

1,384 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Portlaoise planning area: 942 with children at its schools and 442 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
1,384
35% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
38% / 42%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
13% / 22%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
4% / 4%
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

457 pupils (11%) in 1 school

  • 11%
  • 38%
  • 42%

Teaching through Irish

369 pupils (9%) in 1 school

  • 9%
  • 13%
  • 22%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • 0%
  • 4%
  • 4%

Bars run from 0 to 50%.

Each school's parents

Parents of children at each school. Bold marks the school's set-up now.
Scoil Bhride NSPortlaoise 727 131 of 555 ±7.1 41%7%6% 51 answered
Holy Family Senior SchoolPortlaoise 644 148 of 559 ±6.7 29%8%3% 46 answered
Holy Family Junior SchoolPortlaoise 599 178 of 521 ±6.1 28%7%7% 78 answered
Portlaoise Educate Together NSPortlaoise 457 106 of 339 ±7.9 77%8%2% –
Gaelscoil Phort LaoisePortlaoise 369 70 of 256 ±9.6 37%81%3% 56 answered
St Coleman's National SchoolStradbally 318 59 of 180 ±10.5 42%7%2% 36 answered
Fraoch Mor N SLaois 212 49 of 141 ±11.4 29%14%4% –
Raithin an Uisce N SStradbally 211 51 of 142 ±11.2 24%6%0% –
S N Baile FinnPortlaoise 208 80 of 139 ±9 34%15%1% –
Mhuire Fatima N SPortlaoise 193 77 of 135 ±9.2 27%16%5% –
Maryboro N SPortlaoise 96 15 of 74 ±19.5 13%7%0% –
Cosby N SStradbally 57 9 of 37 ±24 89%0%11% –

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

12 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 Bhride NSPortlaoise 19747M 727
−3.8%
+57.7%
36 19.86 23 0
Holy Family Senior SchoolPortlaoise 20480F 644 – – 27 23.41 26 0
Holy Family Junior SchoolPortlaoise 20270R 599 – – 25 23.40 26 0
Portlaoise Educate Together NSPortlaoise 20347D 457 – – 19 23.42 27 0
Gaelscoil Phort LaoisePortlaoise 20081O 369
+24.2%
+139.6%
16 22.69 28 0
St Coleman's National SchoolStradbally 20353V 318
+24.7%
– 13 23.54 30 1
Fraoch Mor N SLaois 18150S 212
−6.6%
+64.3%
8 26.50 31 1
Raithin an Uisce N SStradbally 17604D 211
−9.4%
+81.9%
8 25.62 31 1
S N Baile FinnPortlaoise 15537E 208
−8.4%
+55.2%
9 22.44 27 0
Mhuire Fatima N SPortlaoise 18368W 193
+21.4%
+132.5%
8 22.62 26 0
Maryboro N SPortlaoise 14838N 96
−1.0%
+50.0%
4 24.00 28 0
Cosby N SStradbally 10544W 57
+46.2%
+185.0%
3 19.00 29 0