Photo: Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0Around Aghada-Rostellan, only 0% of schools are in DEIS, fewer than around Co. Cork’s towns or Irish towns
Measured that way, Aghada-Rostellan is below both Co. Cork’s towns (37%) and Irish towns (35%). Every one of its 3 schools within 3 km has a Catholic ethos. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Schools in the town or within 3 km of its outline, Department of Education lists for 2025/26; the Ireland figures cover all schools listed.
What stands out about Aghada-Rostellan’s schools
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 10 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Carrignafoy Community College (5.5 km), Coláiste Muire (6 km) and Colaiste Muire (7.2 km). Post-primary choices ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Where the 3 schools in and around Aghada-Rostellan 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 Aghada-Rostellan’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.
Who runs Aghada-Rostellan’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
3 of Aghada-Rostellan’s 3 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. Their patron: Bishop of Cloyne (3). None of the 3 is 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.
Teaching through Irish in and around Aghada-Rostellan
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
None of the 3 schools in and around Aghada-Rostellan teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Aghada-Rostellan’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Cork’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
| Share of pupils | Around Aghada-Rostellan | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 0% | 18% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 8% | 6% |
| Girls | 45% | 49% | 49% |
Around Aghada-Rostellan, 0% of pupils attend a school in DEIS; across Ireland it is 27%, and 18% in Co. Cork. Where this area differs most from Ireland is pupils at all-Irish schools, at 0% against 6%.
Each of the 3 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Ath FhadaPrimary | 304 | 44% | ||
| Whitegate Mixed N.S.Primary | 87 | 43% | ||
| Walterstown N.S.Primary | 183 | 46% |
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.
One patron for Aghada-Rostellan’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
One patron, Bishop of Cloyne, runs every school around Aghada-Rostellan.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of CloyneS.N. Ath Fhada, Walterstown, Whitegate Mixed | Catholic | 3 | 574 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Aghada-Rostellan
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
Since 2019/20, 1 of these 3 schools have grown by 5% or more and 2 have shrunk as much; across Ireland the number of pupils changed by +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.
The 3 schools in and around Aghada-Rostellan
Each school in or within 3 km of Aghada-Rostellan links to a page of its own. Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
Inspection reports for Aghada-Rostellan’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
Reports come from whole-school evaluations (teaching, learning, leadership and management), subject inspections and follow-through visits that check earlier advice; gov.ie publishes each one with the school’s response.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 3 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| S.N. Ath FhadaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Whitegate Mixed N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Walterstown 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 Aghada-Rostellan
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
Within 10 km of Aghada-Rostellan there are 10 post-primary schools: 6 voluntary secondary schools, 3 ETB schools and one community school. Of these, 3 are single-sex: 2 for girls and 1 for boys. One of them charges fees. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrignafoy Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 322 | 5.5 km |
| Coláiste MuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 709 | 6 km |
| Colaiste MuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 523 | 7.2 km |
| Christian Brothers Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 957 | 8.3 km |
| St Mary's High SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 762 | 8.4 km |
| St Colman's Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 1,171 | 8.7 km |
| St Aloysius CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 765 | 8.7 km |
| Carrigtwohill Post PrimaryETB · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 912 | 9.1 km |
| Midleton CollegeVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 498 | 9.1 km |
| St Peter's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 354 | 9.4 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Aghada-Rostellan
No special school is in or near Aghada-Rostellan. 2 of the 3 primary schools have special classes for children who need more support. Their cards ↑
Special schools and primary schools with special classes as the Department lists them; the National Council for Special Education places pupils in special classes.
Aghada-Rostellan beside the 136 other Irish towns of 800 to 1,600 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilbeggan | 1,575 | 2 | 966 | 0 | 0% | 1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Kilworth | 1,179 | 2 | 371 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 km |
| Charlestown-Bellahy | 1,172 | 2 | 491 | 0 | 50% | 0.4 km |
| Ballylinan | 1,167 | 3 | 435 | 0 | 0% | 7.2 km |
| Raphoe | 1,161 | 4 | 1,792 | 0 | 100% | 0.2 km |
| Aghada-Rostellan | 1,159 | 3 | 574 | 0 | 0% | 5.5 km |
| Straffan | 1,158 | 2 | 730 | 0 | 0% | 3.8 km |
| Coolaney | 1,155 | 1 | 174 | 0 | 0% | 7.5 km |
| Ennistimon | 1,137 | 5 | 1,088 | 0 | 60% | 0.6 km |
| Crossmolina | 1,134 | 3 | 1,029 | 0 | 33% | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||||
| Ballon | 801 | 1 | 239 | 0 | 0% | 7.5 km |
Of the other 136 towns, 64 have more pupils at the schools around them than Aghada-Rostellan. 15 of the 137 towns have an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Aghada-Rostellan
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 Aghada-Rostellan had 594 pupils in 2015/16 and 574 in 2025/26, fewer than before. Whitegate Mixed N.S. grew most: +16% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Aghada-Rostellan
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 Aghada-Rostellan
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aghada-Rostellan | 3 | 574 | 0 | 0% | 5.5 km |
| Whitegate 1.3 km | 2 | 391 | 0 | 0% | 5.2 km |
| Cloyne 6.6 km | 2 | 653 | 0 | 0% | 5.8 km |
| Cobh 6.6 km | 13 | 3,613 | 1 | 23% | 0.8 km |
| Crosshaven 6.8 km | 5 | 1,057 | 0 | 20% | 0.5 km |
| Carrigtwohill 9 km | 6 | 2,782 | 0 | 0% | 0.2 km |
| Midleton 9 km | 10 | 5,560 | 1 | 10% | 0.3 km |
Cobh has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 1. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Aghada-Rostellan changed by −9%; among its neighbours, Carrigtwohill’s grew most (+24%) and Cloyne’s least (−16%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Aghada-Rostellan 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 Aghada-Rostellan
How many schools are there in Aghada-Rostellan?
In Aghada-Rostellan or within 3 km of it: 3 primary schools, with 574 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Aghada-Rostellan that teach through Irish?
None in Aghada-Rostellan or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Is there a secondary school in Aghada-Rostellan?
Not in Aghada-Rostellan or within 3 km of it; the nearest is Carrignafoy Community College, 5.5 km away.
What is the best school in Aghada-Rostellan?
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 Aghada-Rostellan?
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).