Photo: David Hawgood · CC BY-SA 2.0The schools around Tower have grown: pupils +34% since 2019/20, more than around Co. Cork’s towns or Irish towns
On this, Tower is above both Co. Cork’s towns (+1%) and Irish towns (+4%). Pupils: 2,638, up 34% since 2019/20. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
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 Tower’s schools
More all-Irish schools than most places
Families here have more choice of a school that teaches every subject through Irish than in most of Ireland, where 8% of schools do. The school is Gaelscoil Mhuscraí (195). Language ↓
More pupils every year
Pupil numbers at the schools here have grown faster than across Ireland (+5% since 2019/20), so classes and new places are a question worth asking. Pupils over time ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 20 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Scoil Mhuire gan Smal (3.2 km), Ballincollig Community School (4 km) and Le Cheile Secondary School Ballincollig (4.1 km). Post-primary choices ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Teaching through Irish in and around Tower
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
1 of Tower’s 6 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Mhuscraí.
Pupil numbers around Tower
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Tower had 1,863 pupils in 2015/16 and 2,638 in 2025/26. Scoil Mhuire gan Smal grew most: +40% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Tower
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.
Who runs Tower’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
6 of Tower’s 6 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Cloyne (3), Bishop of Cork & Ross (2) and An Foras Pátrúnachta (1). 1 of the 6 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.
Where the 6 schools in and around Tower 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 Tower’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 Tower’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 Tower | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 12% | 18% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 7% | 8% | 6% |
| Girls | 49% | 49% | 49% |
Fewer of the pupils around Tower are at DEIS schools than across Ireland: 12% against 27% (Co. Cork: 18%). Of the DEIS schools here, Strawberry Hill National School is the biggest: 315 pupils.
Each of the 6 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strawberry Hill National SchoolPrimary | 315 | 50% | ✓ | |
| Cloghroe Mixed N.S.Primary | 537 | 48% | ||
| Scoil Chroí ÍosaPrimary | 286 | 54% | ||
| Gaelscoil MhuscraíPrimary | 195 | 52% | ✓ | |
| Scoil Mhuire gan SmalPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,124 | 46% | ||
| Clogheen Mxd N.S.Primary | 181 | 51% |
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 Tower’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
3 patrons run the 6 schools around Tower; the largest, Bishop of Cloyne, has 3 of them and 74% of the pupils.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of CloyneScoil Mhuire gan Smal, Cloghroe Mixed, Scoil Chroí Íosa | Catholic | 3 | 1,947 |
| Bishop of Cork & RossStrawberry Hill, Clogheen Mxd | Catholic | 2 | 496 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Mhuscraí | Catholic | 1 | 195 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Tower
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
3 schools here have grown by 5% or more since 2019/20, 1 have shrunk by as much, out of 5; across Ireland: +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 6 schools in and around Tower
Here are the schools in Tower or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. No letters and no results: Ireland publishes none school by school.
Inspection reports for Tower’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
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 6 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Strawberry Hill National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Cloghroe Mixed N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Chroí ÍosaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil MhuscraíPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Mhuire gan SmalPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Clogheen Mxd 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 Tower
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
Within 10 km of Tower there are 20 post-primary schools: 15 voluntary secondary schools, 3 ETB schools and 2 community schools. 8 of them are single-sex, 5 for girls and 3 for boys. Fees are charged at 3 of them. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire gan SmalVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 1,124 | 3.2 km |
| Ballincollig Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 987 | 4 km |
| Le Cheile Secondary School BallincolligVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 254 | 4.1 km |
| Coláiste ChoilmETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Irish stream | 1,357 | 4.4 km |
| Bishopstown Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 306 | 7.2 km |
| Mount Mercy CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 811 | 7.3 km |
| Terence Mac Swiney Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 302 | 7.4 km |
| Coláiste an Spioraid NaoimhVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 715 | 7.7 km |
| Nano Nagle CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 161 | 8.4 km |
| Gaelcholáiste MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste, DEIS | 690 | 8.8 km |
| North Monastery Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 271 | 8.8 km |
| Presentation Brothers CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 692 | 8.9 km |
All 20 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Vincent's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 283 | 9 km |
| St Aloysius SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 323 | 9.1 km |
| St. Angela's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 606 | 9.6 km |
| Christian Brothers CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 919 | 9.8 km |
| Scoil MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 432 | 9.8 km |
| St Aidan's Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 309 | 9.8 km |
| Coláiste Éamann RísVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 811 | 9.9 km |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 190 | 9.9 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Tower
No special school is in or near Tower. 5 of the 5 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.
Tower beside the 87 other Irish towns of 2,300 to 4,500 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glanmire | 4,454 | 27 | 7,395 | 5 | 26% | 0.9 km |
| … | ||||||
| Cleaboy | 3,454 | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.7 km |
| Limerick City Centre | 3,434 | 43 | 14,494 | 5 | 51% | 0.4 km |
| Clara | 3,403 | 3 | 699 | 0 | 100% | 0.3 km |
| Annacotty | 3,398 | 8 | 4,443 | 1 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| Tower | 3,300 | 6 | 2,638 | 1 | 17% | 3.2 km |
| Rathangan | 3,263 | 3 | 1,345 | 0 | 33% | 0.6 km |
| Crosshaven | 3,263 | 5 | 1,057 | 0 | 20% | 0.5 km |
| Virginia | 3,211 | 3 | 1,430 | 0 | 0% | 0.7 km |
| Ballinrobe | 3,148 | 3 | 1,391 | 0 | 0% | 0.7 km |
| … | ||||||
| Thomastown | 2,305 | 2 | 732 | 0 | 50% | 0.1 km |
Of the other 87 towns, 40 have more pupils at the schools around them than Tower. Teaching through Irish is on offer within 3 km in 50 of the 88.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Schools in the towns around Tower
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower | 6 | 2,638 | 1 | 17% | 3.2 km |
| Blarney 3.1 km | 5 | 2,101 | 1 | 20% | 0.6 km |
| Ballincollig 4.6 km | 28 | 11,989 | 4 | 14% | 0.6 km |
| Killumney 6.9 km | 7 | 2,866 | 1 | 0% | 4 km |
| Shanakiel 7.2 km | 52 | 16,547 | 5 | 54% | 0.6 km |
| Hollyhill and Ballincolly 7.3 km | 84 | 27,337 | 7 | 43% | 1.1 km |
| Bishopstown 7.5 km | 54 | 18,909 | 6 | 50% | 0.3 km |
Hollyhill and Ballincolly has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 7. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Tower changed by +34%; among its neighbours, Blarney’s grew most (+45%) and Bishopstown’s least (+0%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Tower 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 Tower
How many schools are there in Tower?
In Tower or within 3 km of it: 5 primary schools and 1 secondary school, with 2,638 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Tower that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil Mhuscraí teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Tower?
No: the secondary school here is free.
What is the best school in Tower?
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 Tower?
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).