Photo: Ian Paterson · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer of the schools around Ballincollig are in DEIS than around Co. Cork’s towns or Irish towns: 14%
In the comparison, Ballincollig comes below both Co. Cork’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (35%). They have 11,989 pupils between them, in or within 3 km of Ballincollig. 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 Ballincollig’s schools
A wide choice at twelve
23 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Ballincollig Community School (0.6 km), Le Cheile Secondary School Ballincollig (0.6 km) and Coláiste Choilm (1.2 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Few schools in DEIS
Only 4 of the 28 schools here are in DEIS, the programme of extra teachers and money for schools serving disadvantaged areas; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. In DEIS: Strawberry Hill National School (315), Bishopstown Community School (306), Terence Mac Swiney Community College (302) and Scoil Mhuire ar Chnoc hAoine (195). Who goes there ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Where the 28 schools in and around Ballincollig 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 Ballincollig’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 Ballincollig
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
4 of Ballincollig’s 28 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gael Scoil Ui Riordain, Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin and Gaelscoil Ui Riada.
Who Ballincollig’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside Co. Cork’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 Ballincollig | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 9% | 18% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 11% | 8% | 6% |
| Girls | 51% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 26% | 33% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 7% | 6% |
Fewer of the pupils around Ballincollig are at DEIS schools than across Ireland: 9% against 27% (Co. Cork: 18%). Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools, at 0% against 6%. Strawberry Hill National School, with 315 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 28 schools
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.
Who runs Ballincollig’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
22 of Ballincollig’s 28 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Cork & Ross (14), Bishop of Cloyne (3) and Cork ETB (2). 4 of the 28 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 10 patrons of Ballincollig’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
Of the 28 schools around Ballincollig, 14 have Bishop of Cork & Ross as patron, teaching 40% of the pupils; 10 patrons in all. The local Education and Training Board runs 4.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Cork & RossGael Scoil Ui Riordain, Ovens, Scoil Barra, Scoil Naomh Mhuire C, Scoil Naomh Caitriona, Scoil an Spioraid Naomh, S.N. Naomh Eoin B, S.N. Baile Nora, Strawberry Hill, S N an Spioraid Naomh C, Gaelscoil Ui Riada, Scoil Mhuire ar Chnoc hAoine, Clogheen Mxd, Our Lady of Good Counsel | Catholic | 14 | 4,839 |
| Bishop of CloyneScoil Mhuire gan Smal, Cloghroe Mixed, Scoil Chroí Íosa | Catholic | 3 | 1,947 |
| Cork ETBColáiste Choilm, Terence Mac Swiney | Inter-denominational | 2 | 1,659 |
| Cork ETB & Bishop of Cork and RossBallincollig, Bishopstown | Inter-denominational | 2 | 1,293 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil an Chaisleáin, Gaelscoil Mhuscraí | Multi-denominational, Catholic | 2 | 400 |
| CEISTMount Mercy College | Catholic | 1 | 811 |
| Presentation Brothers Schools TrustColáiste an Spioraid Naoimh | Catholic | 1 | 715 |
| Le Chéile Schools TrustLe Cheile Secondary School Ballincollig | Catholic | 1 | 254 |
| Brothers of Charity (Southern Services) Brother John O'SheaSt Gabriels Special School | Catholic | 1 | 54 |
| CEO of Cork University HospitalCork University Hos School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 17 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Ballincollig
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, 8 of the 23 grew by 5% or more and 7 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
All 23 schools
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 28 schools in and around Ballincollig
Each school in or within 3 km of Ballincollig links to a page of its own. You won’t find letters or results below: Ireland publishes none for single schools.
Inspection reports for Ballincollig’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 28 schools below links its own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Ballincollig
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Families in Ballincollig have 23 post-primary schools within 10 km: 18 voluntary secondary schools, 3 ETB schools and 2 community schools. 10 teach girls and boys apart: 6 girls’ and 4 boys’ schools. Fees are charged at 3 of them. Every subject is taught through Irish at 2 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballincollig Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 987 | 0.6 km |
| Le Cheile Secondary School BallincolligVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 254 | 0.6 km |
| Coláiste ChoilmETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Irish stream | 1,357 | 1.2 km |
| Bishopstown Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 306 | 4.9 km |
| Coláiste an Spioraid NaoimhVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 715 | 5.5 km |
| Mount Mercy CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 811 | 5.5 km |
| Scoil Mhuire gan SmalVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 1,124 | 5.7 km |
| Terence Mac Swiney Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 302 | 6.7 km |
| Presentation Brothers CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 692 | 7.8 km |
| St Aloysius SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 323 | 8 km |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 190 | 8.2 km |
| Nano Nagle CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 161 | 8.2 km |
All 23 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Monastery Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 271 | 8.4 km |
| Gaelcholáiste MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste, DEIS | 690 | 8.4 km |
| St Vincent's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 283 | 8.5 km |
| Coláiste Éamann RísVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 811 | 8.5 km |
| St. Angela's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 606 | 8.9 km |
| Coláiste DaibhéidETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste, DEIS | 151 | 9 km |
| Scoil MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 432 | 9 km |
| Christian Brothers CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 919 | 9.1 km |
| Coláiste Chríost RíVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 502 | 9.1 km |
| Christ King Girls' Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 700 | 9.3 km |
| Cork Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 403 | 9.6 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Ballincollig
3 special schools serve the area: Our Lady of Good Counsel N.S., St Gabriels Special School and Cork University Hos School, 139 pupils between them. 9 of the 17 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.
Ballincollig beside the 55 other Irish towns of 15,400 to 29,600 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ennis | 27,923 | 18 | 7,595 | 1 | 33% | 0.3 km |
| … | ||||||
| Sandymount | 22,340 | 133 | 40,801 | 10 | 26% | 0.8 km |
| Ballymun | 22,321 | 93 | 27,057 | 9 | 58% | 0.9 km |
| Douglas | 22,029 | 66 | 20,250 | 10 | 20% | 1.8 km |
| Greystones-Delgany | 22,009 | 13 | 7,013 | 1 | 0% | 0.8 km |
| Ballincollig | 21,940 | 28 | 11,989 | 4 | 14% | 0.6 km |
| Wexford | 21,524 | 16 | 6,749 | 1 | 25% | 0.5 km |
| Carpenterstown | 20,967 | 102 | 40,675 | 5 | 40% | 0.3 km |
| Sligo | 20,608 | 17 | 6,012 | 1 | 35% | 0.6 km |
| Celbridge | 20,601 | 18 | 7,733 | 1 | 0% | 1.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Tallaght | 15,588 | 85 | 30,738 | 9 | 42% | 0.8 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 33 of the other 55 towns than around Ballincollig. Every one of them has an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Ballincollig
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Ballincollig had 10,592 pupils in 2015/16 and 11,989 in 2025/26. Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin grew most: +201% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Ballincollig
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 Ballincollig
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballincollig | 28 | 11,989 | 4 | 14% | 0.6 km |
| Killumney 4.1 km | 7 | 2,866 | 1 | 0% | 4 km |
| Tower 4.6 km | 6 | 2,638 | 1 | 17% | 3.2 km |
| Bishopstown 5.2 km | 54 | 18,909 | 6 | 50% | 0.3 km |
| Blarney 6.2 km | 5 | 2,101 | 1 | 20% | 0.6 km |
| Inishkenny 6.2 km | 43 | 16,164 | 4 | 35% | 1.4 km |
| Shanakiel 6.2 km | 52 | 16,547 | 5 | 54% | 0.6 km |
Bishopstown has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 6. Pupils around Ballincollig: +10% since 2019/20. Among the neighbours, Blarney led (+45%) and Bishopstown trailed (+0%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Ballincollig 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 Ballincollig
How many schools are there in Ballincollig?
In Ballincollig or within 3 km of it: 17 primary schools, 8 secondary schools and 3 special schools, with 11,989 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Ballincollig that teach through Irish?
Yes, 4: Gael Scoil Ui Riordain, Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin and Gaelscoil Ui Riada teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Ballincollig?
No: all 8 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Ballincollig?
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 Ballincollig?
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).