School planning area

Roscommon

14 primary schools and 1,726 pupils in 2025/26, in County Roscommon.

Pupils in 2025/26
1,726
−11 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+56.2%
1,105 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
14
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
21.25
Average school size: 123.3

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 Roscommon, schools with no planning area had 13.4% of pupils in 2015/16, 15.0% in 2005/06 and 34.9% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

1,726

−11 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

14

11 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

123.3

62.3 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

21.25

−0.44 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. 209 in 2025/26, +8 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). 149 pupils in 2025/26, 8.6% of the area's pupils, against 16.1% 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.

5fell by 10% or more
4within 10%
4grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 2Down 10 to 25% · 3Within 10% · 4Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 3

Average class size in these schools went from 23.7 in 2015/16 to 20.7 in 2025/26. 5 of the 5 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 605 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
21.25
Mainstream classes
79
Classes of 30 or more
4
Schools with a class of 30+
4

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
79
Up 39 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 106%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 126
Estimate: 79 class teachers, 4 principals and deputies, 35 special education and 8 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
70
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
2 / 1
2 schools gained a class teacher, 1 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 Roscommon 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
8
In 3 of 14 schools. 5 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
10
In 4 schools: 2 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
6
75% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 5
  • 2021/22 6
  • 2022/23 7
  • 2023/24 7
  • 2024/25 8
  • 2025/26 8
  • 2026/27 10

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

712 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Roscommon planning area: 444 with children at its schools and 268 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
712
53% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
30% / 35%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
18% / 22%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
3% / 5%
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

28 pupils (2%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 2%
  • Parents: children at school: 30%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 35%

Teaching through Irish

149 pupils (9%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 9%
  • Parents: children at school: 18%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 22%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 3%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 5%

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
St Cóman's Wood Primary SchoolRoscommon 605 194 of 442 ±5.9 34%9%6% 50 answered
Roxboro N SDerrane 226 44 of 111 ±12 25%18%0% –
Gaelscoil de hIdeBóthar na Gaillimhe 149 38 of 89 ±12.9 32%92%5% –
S N Cnoc an ChrocaireKnockcroghery 136 43 of 92 ±12.2 30%12%2% –
Scoil BhrídeRoscommon 126 24 of 62 ±15.9 25%21%0% –
S N Naomh SeosamhBallymurray 121 33 of 60 ±13.8 27%9%0% –
Lisaniskey N SDonamon 108 33 of 70 ±13.8 24%12%0% –
Ciaran NaofaFuerty 60 17 of 33 ±18.5 35%0%0% –
Tisrara National SchoolFour Roads 54 13 of 29 ±20.8 23%8%0% –
Clover Hill N SCloverhill 51 Too few to publish – ––– –
Kilteevan N SKilteevan 32 Too few to publish – ––– –
Lecarrow Community National SchoolLecarrow 28 17 of 23 ±18.5 100%24%0% –
S N Rath AradhRahara 17 Too few to publish – ––– –
S N Naomh CeitheachBallymacurley 13 5 of 10 ±29.6 40%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
St Cóman's Wood Primary SchoolRoscommon 20498B 605 – – 26 22.38 28 0
Roxboro N SDerrane 18742U 226
+9.2%
+135.4%
9 25.11 30 1
Gaelscoil de hIdeBóthar na Gaillimhe 20126K 149
−16.3%
– 6 24.83 30 1
S N Cnoc an ChrocaireKnockcroghery 18571T 136
−9.3%
+52.8%
6 19.67 26 0
Scoil BhrídeRoscommon 19815D 126
+14.5%
+31.2%
5 25.20 31 1
S N Naomh SeosamhBallymurray 12964I 121
+36.0%
+236.1%
5 24.20 30 1
Lisaniskey N SDonamon 14356S 108
+25.6%
+44.0%
5 21.60 28 0
Ciaran NaofaFuerty 18194P 60
−22.1%
−31.8%
3 20.00 21 0
Tisrara National SchoolFour Roads 18165I 54
−8.5%
0.0%
3 18.00 23 0
Clover Hill N SCloverhill 13262E 51
+121.7%
+200.0%
3 15.00 18 0
Kilteevan N SKilteevan 14966W 32
−11.1%
−17.9%
2 16.00 17 0
Lecarrow Community National SchoolLecarrow 18272J 28
+7.7%
+21.7%
2 14.00 16 0
S N Rath AradhRahara 17100V 17
−26.1%
−32.0%
2 8.50 11 0
S N Naomh CeitheachBallymacurley 16815L 13
−68.3%
−75.5%
2 6.50 9 0