Finn Valley College
Drumboe Lower, Stranorlar, Lifford, Co Donegal · F93 AE27 · Roll number 71240U
Finn Valley College is one of 2 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. Every school in and around Ballybofey-Stranorlar →
What stands out about Finn Valley College
- 424 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 424 pupils, 61% more than the 263 of 2019/20.
- In 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.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Donegal ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Finn Valley College had 424 pupils in 2025/26, against 284 in 2015/16 (+49%). Girls are 47% of them. Its largest roll was 424, in 2024/25. Its roll rose in 7 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Finn Valley College
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 Finn Valley College 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 Finn Valley College
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 Finn Valley College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Finn Valley College directly, usually in the year before their child finishes sixth class; the school’s yearly admission notice gives the dates for applying and for its decisions.
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.
It is in DEIS, so it has extra support for pupils from disadvantaged areas.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Finn Valley College has grown by 61% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballybofey-Stranorlar together changed by +14%.
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 post-primary schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Each of the 6 nearest post-primary schools has more pupils than Finn Valley College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +61%; 1 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finn Valley College | 424 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | |
| St Columbas College | 983 | +17% | Catholic | English | 0.3 km | |
| Deele College | 840 | +39% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| The Royal and Prior School | 609 | +13% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Loreto Secondary School | 938 | +2% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| St Eunan's College | 1,003 | +15% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Errigal College | 662 | +153% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 18 km |
The other 20 post-primary schools in Co. Donegal
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Ailigh | 324 | +23% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 18 km | |
| Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh | 87 | −49% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 18 km |
| Abbey Vocational School | 999 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 28 km | |
| Loreto Community School | 810 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 32 km | |
| Mulroy College | 617 | +17% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 32 km |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School | 400 | +4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 33 km |
| Rosses Community School | 509 | +26% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School | 885 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 41 km |
| Crana College | 585 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 42 km |
| Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola | 455 | +2% | Inter-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 43 km |
| Coláiste Eoghain | 13 | −59% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 43 km | |
| Coláiste Cholmcille | 682 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 43 km |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair | 414 | −8% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 45 km |
| St. Catherine's Vocational School | 359 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 46 km |
| Magh Ene College | 333 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 49 km | |
| Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada | 61 | −26% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | 50 km |
| Coláiste na Carraige | 210 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 58 km |
| Coláiste Phobail Cholmcille | 11 | – | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 58 km |
| Carndonagh Community School | 1,118 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 59 km |
| Moville Community College | 648 | +25% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 63 km |
Living in Ballybofey-Stranorlar
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F93 Eircode area
Housing in Ballybofey-Stranorlar →The median sale price rose from €161,000 in 2023 to €175,000 in 2025 (+9%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F93 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballybofey-Stranorlar
Cost of living in Ballybofey-Stranorlar →New tenancies in Ballybofey-Stranorlar averaged €868 a month in 2025, against €752 in 2024 (+15%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballybofey-Stranorlar, F93 AE27
Post-primary schools near Finn Valley College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Finn Valley College
Is Finn Valley College 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 Finn Valley College have?
424 pupils in 2025/26. That is +61% since 2019/20.
Does Finn Valley College teach through Irish?
No: Finn Valley College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Finn Valley College?
Finn Valley College has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Donegal ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Finn Valley College?
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 Finn Valley College?
The nearest are St Columbas College (0.3 km), Deele College (13 km) and The Royal and Prior School (14 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 Ballybofey-Stranorlar; 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).