School Numbers
Menu
Find schools Counties Irish-medium Special schools About the data

School planning area

Tuam

19 primary schools and 2,972 pupils in 2025/26, in County Galway.

Pupils in 2025/26
2,972
−8 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+43.2%
2,075 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
19
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
22.24
Average school size: 156.4

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 Galway, schools with no planning area had 4.9% of pupils in 2015/16, 9.0% in 2005/06 and 34.0% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

2,972

−8 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

19

14 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

156.4

87.3 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

22.24

−0.82 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. 326 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). 223 pupils in 2025/26, 7.5% of the area's pupils, against 9.6% 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

17 schools with figures for both years

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

8fell by 10% or more
5within 10%
4grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 4Down 10 to 25% · 4Within 10% · 5Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 3

Average class size in these schools went from 25.2 in 2015/16 to 23.0 in 2025/26. 4 of the 8 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

Grown most

Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26

  1. 1 Newtown NSTuam, Co. Galway 117 → 172 +47.0%
  2. 2 S N Cathair GealTuam, Co. Galway 87 → 124 +42.5%
  3. 3 Gaelscoil IarfhlathaTuaim, Co. Galway 200 → 223 +11.5%
  4. 4 Ceathru na nGarrdhantaTuam, Co. Galway 186 → 203 +9.1%
  5. 5 S N an Croi Ro NaofaTuam, Co. Galway 193 → 208 +7.8%

Fallen most

Pupils in 2015/16 and 2025/26

  1. 1 S N BheanainTuam, Co. Galway 66 → 31 −53.0%
  2. 2 St Brendans N STuam, Co. Galway 61 → 39 −36.1%
  3. 3 Barnaderg Central SCHTuam, Co. Galway 115 → 77 −33.0%
  4. 4 St Colmans MXD N STuam, Co. Galway 290 → 202 −30.3%
  5. 5 S N Cor an DromaClaregalway, Co. Galway 97 → 73 −24.7%

Ranked by percentage change. Only schools with 50 or more pupils in 2015/16 are ranked, leaving out any still filling their classes then, because a few pupils make a big percentage in a small or new school. An amalgamation, a new school nearby or smaller classes can also explain a big rise or fall.

Newer schools

2 schools still filling their classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 976 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
22.24
Mainstream classes
131
Classes of 30 or more
7
Schools with a class of 30+
4

Teachers

Teachers in the 19 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
131
Up 72 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 116%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 209
Estimate: 131 class teachers, 9 principals and deputies, 58 special education and 11 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
114
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
3 / 2
3 schools 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

1 special school in the Tuam planning area, and the special classes in its 19 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
40
In 1 school, up from 24 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
11
In 3 of 19 schools. 7 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
15
In 5 schools: 4 new classes, 2 schools with their first
Autism classes
9
82% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 7
  • 2021/22 9
  • 2022/23 9
  • 2023/24 9
  • 2024/25 10
  • 2025/26 11
  • 2026/27 15

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
St. Oliver's Child Education and Development CentreTuam · Severe or profound general learning disability 40
+66.7%
8 17.66

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

What parents would prefer

1,294 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Tuam planning area: 916 with children at its schools and 378 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
1,294
53% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
38% / 36%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
20% / 24%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
3% / 9%
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

195 pupils (7%) in 1 school

  • 7%
  • 38%
  • 36%

Teaching through Irish

223 pupils (8%) in 1 school

  • 8%
  • 20%
  • 24%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • 0%
  • 3%
  • 9%

Bars run from 0 to 50%.

Each school's parents

Parents of children at each school. Bold marks the school's set-up now.
Trinity Primary SchoolTuam 781 235 of 508 ±5.3 31%8%8% 117 answered
Gaelscoil IarfhlathaTuaim 223 69 of 158 ±9.7 30%93%3% –
S N an Croi Ro NaofaTuam 208 65 of 142 ±10 31%14%2% –
Ceathru na nGarrdhantaTuam 203 57 of 142 ±10.6 42%5%4% –
St Colmans MXD N STuam 202 90 of 137 ±8.5 33%13%1% 34 answered
Tuam Educate Together National SchoolTuam 195 64 of 154 ±10.1 81%11%6% 39 answered
Ballinderry N STuam 191 64 of 106 ±10.1 38%23%0% –
Newtown NSTuam 172 73 of 119 ±9.5 47%22%4% –
S N Cathair GealTuam 124 42 of 81 ±12.3 50%21%2% –
SN Baile an MhuilinnTuam 99 16 of 39 ±19 12%12%0% –
Kilconly N STuam 90 38 of 53 ±12.9 37%16%0% –
S N an TsaileainTuam 90 27 of 53 ±15.1 30%19%0% –
Barnaderg Central SCHTuam 77 23 of 59 ±16.2 26%35%0% –
S N Cor an DromaClaregalway 73 25 of 49 ±15.6 20%24%4% –
S N an Leath BhaileTuam 69 21 of 42 ±16.9 43%38%5% –
SN Ceathru na LaithighTuam 54 11 of 37 ±22.2 9%45%0% –
Scoil Naomh IosefTuam 51 5 of 14 ±29.6 20%40%0% –
St Brendans N STuam 39 16 of 24 ±19 31%25%0% –
S N BheanainTuam 31 10 of 18 ±23.1 30%0%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

19 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
Trinity Primary SchoolTuam 20547L 781 – – 37 19.97 25 0
Gaelscoil IarfhlathaTuaim 20061I 223
+11.5%
+125.3%
9 24.78 31 3
S N an Croi Ro NaofaTuam 18021H 208
+7.8%
+131.1%
8 24.62 29 0
Ceathru na nGarrdhantaTuam 17631G 203
+9.1%
+69.2%
8 25.38 29 0
St Colmans MXD N STuam 19276W 202
−30.3%
+4.7%
8 25.25 29 0
Tuam Educate Together National SchoolTuam 20456I 195 – – 8 24.38 27 0
Ballinderry N STuam 16410I 191
+7.3%
+138.8%
8 23.88 36 2
Newtown NSTuam 20280U 172
+47.0%
– 7 24.57 31 1
S N Cathair GealTuam 17807R 124
+42.5%
+14.8%
5 24.80 33 1
SN Baile an MhuilinnTuam 18460K 99
+2.1%
+37.5%
5 19.80 27 0
Kilconly N STuam 15475I 90
−21.7%
+20.0%
4 22.50 25 0
S N an TsaileainTuam 06489S 90
+1.1%
+50.0%
4 22.50 28 0
Barnaderg Central SCHTuam 19275U 77
−33.0%
−10.5%
4 19.25 23 0
S N Cor an DromaClaregalway 15796F 73
−24.7%
−25.5%
3 22.33 25 0
S N an Leath BhaileTuam 17197Q 69
−10.4%
+32.7%
3 23.00 28 0
SN Ceathru na LaithighTuam 12138V 54
+54.3%
+80.0%
3 18.00 25 0
Scoil Naomh IosefTuam 18289D 51
−17.7%
−21.5%
3 17.00 22 0
St Brendans N STuam 20040A 39
−36.1%
−23.5%
2 19.50 21 0
S N BheanainTuam 18636V 31
−53.0%
−46.6%
2 15.50 17 0