School planning area

Westport

17 primary schools and 1,907 pupils in 2025/26, in County Mayo.

Pupils in 2025/26
1,907
+17 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+7.4%
1,775 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
17
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
21.84
Average school size: 112.2

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 Mayo, schools with no planning area had 9.0% of pupils in 2015/16, 17.7% in 2005/06 and 49.2% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

1,907

+17 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

17

13 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

112.2

53.3 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

21.84

+0.73 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. 227 in 2025/26, +33 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). 208 pupils in 2025/26, 10.9% of the area's pupils, against 12.2% 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

16 schools with figures for both years

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

7fell by 10% or more
4within 10%
5grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 5Down 10 to 25% · 2Within 10% · 4Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 4

Average class size in these schools went from 23.4 in 2015/16 to 22.0 in 2025/26. 4 of the 7 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 48 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
21.84
Mainstream classes
85
Classes of 30 or more
9
Schools with a class of 30+
5

Teachers

Teachers in the 17 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
85
Up 15 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 18%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 133
Estimate: 85 class teachers, 6 principals and deputies, 33 special education and 9 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
108
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
0 / 1
0 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 Westport planning area, and the special classes in the 17 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
9
In 3 of 17 schools. 8 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
10
In 4 schools: 1 new class, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
7
78% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

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

  • 2020/21 8
  • 2021/22 8
  • 2022/23 9
  • 2023/24 9
  • 2024/25 9
  • 2025/26 9
  • 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

692 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Westport planning area: 490 with children at its schools and 202 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
692
48% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
44% / 50%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
19% / 24%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
1% / 2%
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

48 pupils (3%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 3%
  • Parents: children at school: 44%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 50%

Teaching through Irish

208 pupils (11%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 11%
  • Parents: children at school: 19%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 24%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 1%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 2%

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 PhadraigWestport 338 119 of 256 ±7.5 42%13%2% –
Newport CentralBaile Ui Bhfiachain 243 58 of 149 ±10.6 40%16%0% –
Gaelscoil na CuaicheCathair na Mart 208 49 of 124 ±11.4 55%90%4% –
S N Cnoc RuscaigheWestport 206 39 of 123 ±12.7 28%10%3% –
S N Naomh Colm CilleWestport 206 49 of 131 ±11.4 51%14%4% –
Brackloon N SWestport 145 49 of 101 ±11.4 45%12%0% –
S N FaitcheWestport 137 41 of 78 ±12.4 34%5%2% –
Myna N SWestport 102 22 of 52 ±16.5 27%18%0% –
S N Lainn CilleCathair Na Mart 66 19 of 32 ±17.7 53%26%0% –
Muirisc NSWestport 49 11 of 22 ±22.2 64%9%0% –
Westport Educate Together National SchoolWestport 48 20 of 36 ±17.3 100%10%0% –
Carraholly N SWestport 42 18 of 27 ±18.1 50%11%0% –
Holy Trinity National SchoolWestport 41 13 of 29 ±20.8 69%15%0% –
Carrakennedy N SWestport 32 12 of 23 ±21.4 33%0%0% –
S N Colm NaofaWestport 27 8 of 16 ±25.1 38%0%0% –
Cloondaff N SNewport 11 6 of 8 ±27.9 0%33%0% –
S N Coill MorWestport 6 Too few to publish – ––– –

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

17 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 PhadraigWestport 20230F 338
+7.3%
– 14 24.14 27 0
Newport CentralBaile Ui Bhfiachain 19451O 243
+39.7%
+23.4%
10 22.50 33 1
Gaelscoil na CuaicheCathair na Mart 20046M 208
−3.7%
+5.6%
8 26.00 31 3
S N Cnoc RuscaigheWestport 18712L 206
+15.7%
+100.0%
8 22.25 27 0
S N Naomh Colm CilleWestport 13145A 206
−0.5%
−8.4%
8 25.75 32 2
Brackloon N SWestport 04796R 145
+26.1%
+178.8%
6 23.33 28 0
S N FaitcheWestport 13555T 137
+67.1%
+67.1%
5 27.40 38 2
Myna N SWestport 16618J 102
−19.7%
+18.6%
4 25.50 32 1
S N Lainn CilleCathair Na Mart 16904K 66
−1.5%
+53.5%
3 22.00 28 0
Muirisc NSWestport 16832L 49
+133.3%
−12.5%
3 16.33 21 0
Westport Educate Together National SchoolWestport 20510L 48 – – 3 16.00 18 0
Carraholly N SWestport 17483R 42
−55.8%
−40.0%
3 14.00 16 0
Holy Trinity National SchoolWestport 08302J 41
−31.7%
−34.9%
3 13.67 17 0
Carrakennedy N SWestport 15866A 32
−17.9%
−37.3%
2 16.00 17 0
S N Colm NaofaWestport 17682A 27
−35.7%
−35.7%
2 13.50 16 0
Cloondaff N SNewport 11834N 11
−35.3%
−56.0%
2 5.50 6 0
S N Coill MorWestport 17039V 6
−70.0%
−66.7%
1 6.00 6 0