Cara Junior School
Cara Junior School, Banduff Road, Mayfield, Cork · T23 TA12 · Roll number 20354A
Cara Junior School is one of 9 special schools in or within 3 km of Ballyvolane. Every school in and around Ballyvolane →
What stands out about Cara Junior School
- 72 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+11%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- 14 girls and 58 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is Brothers of Charity (Southern Services) Brother John O'Shea; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Cara Junior School had 72 pupils in 2025/26, against 60 in 2015/16 (+20%). Girls are 19% of them. Its largest roll was 72, in 2021/22. Its roll rose in 3 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Cara Junior School
Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing schools by them, so this school has no letter and nothing here ranks it. Its facts are the Department of Education’s; its inspection reports are linked below.
What the Department of Education does publish for Cara Junior School is on this page: its pupils each September since 2015/16, girls and boys, its patron and ethos, whether it teaches through Irish, whether it is in DEIS, and its inspection reports.
Newspapers print lists of how many of a school’s leavers go on to college. Those count destinations, not exam results, and depend on who a school takes in; we don’t use them.
Inspection reports on Cara Junior School
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate visits schools and publishes its reports. The reports describe what inspectors saw; they give no overall grade, and we don’t make one. Reports for this school on gov.ie ↗
Inspectors visit every kind of school. Whole-school evaluations look at teaching and learning, leadership and management; subject inspections look at one subject; follow-through inspections check whether earlier advice was taken. Each report is published on gov.ie with the school’s response.
Getting a place at Cara Junior School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at Cara Junior School follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
A school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its admission policy, often brothers and sisters, the area it serves and, for post-primary schools, its feeder primaries. A family refused a place can appeal.
Places in special classes and special schools are allocated with the National Council for Special Education.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Cara Junior School has grown by 11% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballyvolane together changed by −1%.
Pupils since 2019/20
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; Department of Education enrolments 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary).
Side by side with the nearest special schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Of the 6 nearest special schools, 3 have more pupils than Cara Junior School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +11%; 2 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cara Junior School | 72 | +11% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Killians Spec Sch | 106 | +31% | Catholic | English | 0.5 km | |
| St Bernadettes Spec Sch | 132 | +1% | Catholic | English | 1.3 km | |
| St Paul's School | 92 | −5% | Catholic | English | 1.6 km | |
| Scoil Eanna | 66 | −14% | Catholic | English | 1.6 km | |
| Scoil Triest | 72 | +1% | Catholic | English | 2 km | |
| School of the Divine Child (Scoil an Linbh Íosa) | 46 | +28% | Catholic | English | 2.3 km |
The other 12 special schools in Co. Cork
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Aislinn | 36 | +0% | Other | English | 3.4 km | |
| St Kevins School | 10 | – | Catholic | English | 3.8 km | |
| Rochestown Community Special School | 66 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 5.7 km | |
| Cork University Hos School | 17 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 6.9 km | |
| St Marys Spec Sch | 85 | +29% | Catholic | English | 7 km | |
| St Gabriels Special School | 54 | +26% | Catholic | English | 8.7 km | |
| Sonas Special Primary Junior School | 48 | +14% | Other | English | 10 km | |
| Carrigaline Community Special School | 47 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| East Cork Community Special School | 21 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| Our Lady of Good Counsel N.S. | 68 | +0% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| North Cork Community Special School | 19 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 26 km | |
| Holy Family S S | 87 | −1% | Catholic | English | 52 km |
Living in Ballyvolane
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the T23 Eircode area
Housing in Ballyvolane →The median sale price rose from €299,100 in 2023 to €370,600 in 2025 (+24%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the T23 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballyvolane
Cost of living in Ballyvolane →New tenancies in Ballyvolane averaged €1,701 a month in 2025, against €1,559 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballyvolane, T23 TA12
Special schools near Cara Junior School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Cara Junior School
Is Cara Junior School a good school?
We don’t grade it: Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them. Its inspection reports on gov.ie, a visit and a talk with the principal will tell you more than any table could.
How many pupils does Cara Junior School have?
72 pupils in 2025/26. That is +11% since 2019/20.
Does Cara Junior School teach through Irish?
No: Cara Junior School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Cara Junior School?
Cara Junior School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Brothers of Charity (Southern Services) Brother John O'Shea.
How do pupils get a place at Cara Junior School?
Apply to the school directly. It publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates; if more children apply than it has places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Which schools of the same kind are near Cara Junior School?
The nearest are St Killians Spec Sch (0.5 km), St Bernadettes Spec Sch (1.3 km) and St Paul's School (1.6 km).
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · inspection reports on gov.ie, linked by roll number. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Facts from the Department of Education’s school lists. Listed with Ballyvolane; nothing here rates the school.
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).