St. Catherine's Vocational School
Donegal Road, Killybegs, Co. Donegal · F94 A004 · Roll number 71241W
St. Catherine's Vocational School is the only one of the post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Killybegs. Every school in and around Killybegs →
What stands out about St. Catherine's Vocational School
- A small post-primary school: 359 pupils, against a typical 585.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−2%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- 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.
- The only post-primary school in Killybegs or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St. Catherine's Vocational School had 359 pupils in 2025/26, against 320 in 2015/16 (+12%). Girls are 48% of them. Its largest roll was 394, in 2023/24. Its roll rose in 6 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St. Catherine's Vocational 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 St. Catherine's Vocational 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 St. Catherine's Vocational 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 St. Catherine's Vocational School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to St. Catherine's Vocational School 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: St. Catherine's Vocational School is about the size it was in 2019/20 (−2%). All the schools around Killybegs 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 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.
Of the 5 nearest post-primary schools, 3 have more pupils than St. Catherine's Vocational School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −2%; 5 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Catherine's Vocational School | 359 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | |
| Coláiste na Carraige | 210 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School | 400 | +4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Magh Ene College | 333 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 21 km | |
| Abbey Vocational School | 999 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 21 km | |
| Coláiste Cholmcille | 682 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 22 km |
The other 21 post-primary schools in Co. Donegal
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosses Community School | 509 | +26% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 35 km |
| Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh | 87 | −49% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 36 km |
| Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada | 61 | −26% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | 39 km |
| St Columbas College | 983 | +17% | Catholic | English | 46 km | |
| Finn Valley College | 424 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 46 km |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair | 414 | −8% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 52 km |
| St Eunan's College | 1,003 | +15% | Catholic | English | 56 km | |
| Loreto Secondary School | 938 | +2% | Catholic | English | 56 km | |
| Errigal College | 662 | +153% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 58 km |
| Coláiste Ailigh | 324 | +23% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 58 km | |
| Deele College | 840 | +39% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 60 km |
| Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola | 455 | +2% | Inter-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 60 km |
| The Royal and Prior School | 609 | +13% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 60 km |
| Loreto Community School | 810 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 68 km | |
| Mulroy College | 617 | +17% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 69 km |
| Coláiste Phobail Cholmcille | 11 | – | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 71 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School | 885 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 83 km |
| Crana College | 585 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 83 km |
| Coláiste Eoghain | 13 | −59% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 84 km | |
| Carndonagh Community School | 1,118 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 101 km |
| Moville Community College | 648 | +25% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 108 km |
Living in Killybegs
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F94 Eircode area
Housing in Killybegs →The median sale price rose from €185,000 in 2023 to €195,000 in 2025 (+5%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F94 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Donegal
Cost of living in Killybegs →New tenancies in Co. Donegal averaged €977 a month in 2025, against €893 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Killybegs, F94 A004
Post-primary schools near St. Catherine's Vocational School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St. Catherine's Vocational School
Is St. Catherine's Vocational 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 St. Catherine's Vocational School have?
359 pupils in 2025/26. That is −2% since 2019/20.
Does St. Catherine's Vocational School teach through Irish?
No: St. Catherine's Vocational School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St. Catherine's Vocational School?
St. Catherine's Vocational School has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Donegal ETB.
How do pupils get a place at St. Catherine's Vocational 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 St. Catherine's Vocational School?
The nearest are Coláiste na Carraige (13 km), St Columba's Comprehensive School (20 km) and Magh Ene College (21 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 Killybegs; 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).