Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer single-sex secondaries around Tullow than around Irish towns: 0%
On this, Tullow is below Irish towns (39%). Its one secondary school within 3 km, Tullow Community School, has 901 pupils. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Tullow’s schools
Extra support for many schools
Many schools here are in DEIS, which gives schools in disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and help; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. In DEIS: S.N. Muire Lourdes (195), S.N. Phadraig Naofa (150) and St Columbas N.S. (93). Who runs them ↓
One school growing fast
Of the schools here, Tullow Community School has grown fastest, from 707 in 2019/20 to 901. Getting a place ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
Who runs Tullow’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
2 of Tullow’s 4 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (2), Kilkenny & Carlow ETB & Patrician Brothers (1) and Bishop of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory COI (1). 3 of the 4 are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% across Ireland).
Department of Education school lists: ethos 2025/26, patron 2024/25 (the 2025/26 lists don’t give it). DEIS list 2025/26.
The 4 schools in and around Tullow
Each school in or within 3 km of Tullow links to a page of its own. Ireland publishes no school-by-school results, which is why these cards have no letters.
Where the 4 schools in and around Tullow are
Each school where the official list places it, shaded by who runs it and sized by pupils; squares are secondary schools, triangles special schools. The dashed shape is Tullow’s outline; schools within 3 km of it count.
Places from the Department of Education’s school lists (its own coordinates for all but a handful); map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Teaching through Irish in and around Tullow
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
None of the 4 schools in and around Tullow teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Tullow’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside Co. Carlow’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Tullow | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 33% | 37% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 51% | 49% | 49% |
DEIS schools teach 33% of the pupils around Tullow, a larger share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Carlow: 37%). Set beside Ireland, pupils at all-Irish schools stand out most: 0% against 6%. The largest DEIS school here is S.N. Muire Lourdes, with 195 pupils.
Each of the 4 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tullow Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | 901 | 50% | ||
| S.N. Muire LourdesPrimary | 195 | 100% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Phadraig NaofaPrimary | 150 | 0% | ✓ | |
| St Columbas N.S.Primary | 93 | 48% | ✓ |
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary): enrolments by sex and the DEIS list. Shares are of pupils, not of schools; a county’s are the schools listed with its towns.
The 3 patrons of Tullow’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
Of the 4 schools around Tullow, 2 have Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin as patron, teaching 26% of the pupils; 3 patrons in all. The local Education and Training Board runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinS.N. Muire Lourdes, S.N. Phadraig Naofa | Catholic | 2 | 345 |
| Kilkenny & Carlow ETB & Patrician BrothersTullow | Inter-denominational | 1 | 901 |
| Bishop of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory COISt Columbas | Church of Ireland | 1 | 93 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Tullow
Starting primary school
Children can start primary school once they are four, and must be in school by six. Families apply to each school directly. Every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice; a school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its policy. Since the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, a Catholic or other majority-faith primary school can’t put baptised children first; a school of a minority faith still can, to keep its ethos.
Moving to secondary school
Children move to post-primary school at about twelve, after sixth class. Again, families apply to each school, usually a year or more ahead, and an oversubscribed school admits on its published criteria, often brothers and sisters and its feeder primary schools.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Between 2019/20 and now, 2 of the 4 grew by 5% or more and 2 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September, 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary). No capacity is published, so how full a school is can’t be shown.
Inspection reports for Tullow’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
The Inspectorate inspects schools in several ways: a whole-school evaluation covers teaching, learning and how the school is led; a subject inspection looks at one subject; a follow-through checks on earlier advice. Reports go on gov.ie with the school’s reply.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 4 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Tullow Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Muire LourdesPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Phadraig NaofaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Columbas N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Tullow
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
The only post-primary school within 10 km of Tullow is Tullow Community School, a community school. It takes girls and boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tullow Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 901 | 0.5 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Tullow beside the 101 other Irish towns of 3,600 to 6,900 people
Towns of a similar size, with the schools in or within 3 km of each; ordered by population, never ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westport | 6,872 | 10 | 2,121 | 1 | 20% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Inchicore | 5,285 | 76 | 21,071 | 3 | 59% | 0.7 km |
| Ballyboden | 5,246 | 73 | 26,593 | 7 | 21% | 0.3 km |
| Knockrea | 5,228 | 84 | 24,668 | 9 | 49% | 0.3 km |
| Ballybeg | 5,226 | 32 | 12,349 | 1 | 41% | 1.1 km |
| Tullow | 5,138 | 4 | 1,339 | 0 | 75% | 0.5 km |
| Clonakilty | 5,112 | 6 | 2,124 | 1 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| Glounthaune | 5,000 | 32 | 10,210 | 4 | 19% | 3.7 km |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 33 | 11,452 | 5 | 33% | 0.2 km |
| Fair Hill | 4,910 | 58 | 17,368 | 5 | 55% | 0.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Ballyfermot | 3,632 | 58 | 19,071 | 2 | 57% | 0.4 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 94 of the other 101 towns than around Tullow. Within 3 km, 80 of these 102 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Tullow
Pupils every September at the schools in or within 3 km of the town, each counted at today’s site.
The schools in and around Tullow had 1,156 pupils in 2015/16 and 1,339 in 2025/26. St Columbas N.S. grew most: +58% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Tullow
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year, 2015/16 to 2025/26 (preliminary), for every school placed in the area today; schools that have since closed or merged count where they stood.
Schools in the towns around Tullow
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tullow | 4 | 1,339 | 0 | 75% | 0.5 km |
| Rathvilly 9 km | 2 | 248 | 0 | 50% | 6.3 km |
| Carlow 13 km | 19 | 7,832 | 2 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Castledermot 14 km | 2 | 678 | 0 | 0% | 0.3 km |
| Baltinglass 15 km | 3 | 912 | 0 | 0% | 0.2 km |
| Bunclody 18 km | 5 | 1,912 | 0 | 40% | 0.5 km |
| Tinahely 19 km | 3 | 272 | 0 | 0% | 9.7 km |
Carlow has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. The roll around Tullow moved +6% since 2019/20; nearby, Bunclody grew most (+16%) and Castledermot least (−12%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Tullow or within 3 km of its outline, as the Department places it: families here use them. Schools further out are on the map of each school’s own page.
- The kinds of school. Primary schools take children from junior infants to sixth class, about ages 4 to 12. Post-primary schools teach the Junior and Leaving Certificate, about ages 12 to 18: voluntary secondary schools (mostly with a religious patron), ETB schools and community colleges run by an Education and Training Board, and community and comprehensive schools. Special schools teach children with particular needs.
- Teaching through Irish. All-Irish: every subject taught through Irish, in the Gaeltacht or, outside it, a Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste. Partly in Irish: an Irish stream (some classes entirely through Irish) or some subjects through Irish. Every other school teaches Irish as a subject.
- DEIS. DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) gives schools serving disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and support; the Department decides which schools are in it.
- Ethos and patron. Most Irish schools are owned by a patron, mostly a church; the patron sets the school’s ethos. Multi-denominational schools (Educate Together, many ETB schools) teach children of every faith and none together.
- No grade. Section 53 of the Education Act 1998 lets the Minister refuse to release information that would allow schools’ exam results to be compared, and no results are published school by school. So Ireland’s schools have no letters and its towns no School Grade; nothing on this page ranks them.
- What isn’t here. What the UK and French pages show from results, these can’t: results charts, results against pupils’ backgrounds and towns ranked by their schools (no published results), and how full each school is (no capacity is published). Every post-primary school teaches to the Leaving Certificate, so there is no sixth-form split to show.
- Inspections. The Inspectorate’s reports are linked from each school’s page. They give no overall grade, so none is shown.
- The year. The 2025/26 lists are the Department’s preliminary release; numbers can change a little in the final lists.
Questions about schools in Tullow
How many schools are there in Tullow?
In Tullow or within 3 km of it: 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school, with 1,339 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Tullow that teach through Irish?
None in Tullow or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Tullow?
No: the secondary school here is free.
What is the best school in Tullow?
We don’t say. Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them; a ranking would rest on guesses. Each school’s page has its own facts and a link to its inspection reports, and visiting the schools you are weighing is still the best guide.
How do I get a place at a school in Tullow?
Apply to each school directly: every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates. If it has more applicants than places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · one school placed with OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).