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School planning area

Thurles

14 primary schools and 1,856 pupils in 2025/26, in County Tipperary.

Pupils in 2025/26
1,856
−45 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−4.3%
1,940 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
14
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
21.68
Average school size: 132.6

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 Tipperary, schools with no planning area had 3.2% of pupils in 2015/16, 7.0% in 2005/06 and 21.8% in 1976/77. Known data issues

Pupils

1,856

−45 on 2024/25

1976/772025/26

Schools

14

12 in 1976/77

1976/772025/26

Average pupils per school

132.6

148.6 in 1976/77

1976/772025/26

Average class size

21.68

−0.64 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. 227 in 2025/26, +45 on 2024/25.

Girls and boys

Each school year.

Irish-medium schools

Pupils in schools that teach all subjects through Irish (1 school today). 194 pupils in 2025/26, 10.5% of the area's pupils, against 11.5% 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

14 schools with figures for both years

6fell by 10% or more
3within 10%
5grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 1Down 10 to 25% · 5Within 10% · 3Up 10 to 25% · 3Up 25% or more · 2

Average class size in these schools went from 25.3 in 2015/16 to 21.7 in 2025/26. 4 of the 6 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
21.68
Mainstream classes
82
Classes of 30 or more
4
Schools with a class of 30+
3

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
82
Up 7 since 2006/07, while pupils fell 2%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 145
Estimate: 82 class teachers, 8 principals and deputies, 42 special education and 13 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
114
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
1 / 1
1 school 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 Thurles 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
13
In 8 of 14 schools. 7 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
13
In 8 schools
Autism classes
12
92% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 7
  • 2021/22 9
  • 2022/23 11
  • 2023/24 11
  • 2024/25 12
  • 2025/26 13
  • 2026/27 13

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

638 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Thurles planning area: 427 with children at its schools and 211 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
638
42% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
34% / 37%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
21% / 20%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
6% / 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

No school here now

  • 0%
  • 34%
  • 37%

Teaching through Irish

194 pupils (11%) in 1 school

  • 11%
  • 21%
  • 20%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • 0%
  • 6%
  • 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.
Presentation Primary SchoolThurles 247 71 of 196 ±9.6 34%8%7% –
Scoil AngelaThurles 219 49 of 162 ±11.4 35%4%16% –
S N Micheal NaofaThurles 195 25 of 72 ±15.6 44%16%4% –
Gaelscoil Durlas EileDurlas 194 64 of 134 ±10.1 38%91%2% –
Scoil AilbheThurles 189 58 of 159 ±10.6 41%7%10% –
Two Mile Borris N SThurles 148 33 of 98 ±13.8 24%18%3% –
S N Naomh PeadarThurles 138 31 of 69 ±14.2 29%19%3% –
S N LeamhachThurles 117 46 of 85 ±11.8 41%2%4% –
S N Rath EilteThurles 94 18 of 49 ±18.1 17%0%6% –
S N ChaoimhghinThurles 83 15 of 51 ±19.5 7%7%7% –
S N na hInseThurles 83 7 of 16 ±26.4 29%0%14% –
S N na MaighneThurles 65 24 of 42 ±15.9 38%12%0% –
Ballycahill N SThurles 49 17 of 34 ±18.5 29%35%6% –
Gaile N SThurles 35 5 of 20 ±29.6 80%0%0% 37 answered

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
Presentation Primary SchoolThurles 19874T 247
+5.1%
0.0%
11 21.36 28 0
Scoil AngelaThurles 18135W 219
−21.8%
−27.0%
9 24.33 32 1
S N Micheal NaofaThurles 18775M 195
−14.8%
+4.8%
9 20.33 26 0
Gaelscoil Durlas EileDurlas 19968F 194
−13.4%
−2.5%
8 24.25 31 1
Scoil AilbheThurles 17634M 189
−0.5%
−15.2%
8 22.88 32 2
Two Mile Borris N SThurles 16211C 148
+17.5%
+7.2%
6 22.67 29 0
S N Naomh PeadarThurles 04005G 138
−5.5%
+4.5%
6 23.00 28 0
S N LeamhachThurles 18213Q 117
+31.5%
+108.9%
5 21.00 28 0
S N Rath EilteThurles 18396E 94
+11.9%
+44.6%
4 22.00 27 0
S N ChaoimhghinThurles 18343G 83
+18.6%
−19.4%
4 17.75 28 0
S N na hInseThurles 18350D 83
+31.7%
+43.1%
4 20.75 27 0
S N na MaighneThurles 17681V 65
−33.7%
−4.4%
3 21.67 28 0
Ballycahill N SThurles 01569O 49
−22.2%
−33.8%
3 16.33 21 0
Gaile N SThurles 15299O 35
−18.6%
+84.2%
2 14.50 16 0