St Bernadette Spec Sch
College Farm Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal · F92 N289 · Roll number 19592J
St Bernadette Spec Sch is one of 2 special schools in or within 3 km of Letterkenny. Every school in and around Letterkenny →
What stands out about St Bernadette Spec Sch
- One of the larger special schools: 129 pupils, against a typical 58.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 129 pupils, 102% more than the 64 of 2019/20.
- 42 girls and 87 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Raphoe; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Bernadette Spec Sch had 129 pupils in 2025/26, against 71 in 2015/16 (+82%). Girls are 33% of them. 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 Bernadette Spec Sch
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 Bernadette Spec Sch 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 Bernadette Spec Sch
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 Bernadette Spec Sch
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Bernadette Spec Sch 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: St Bernadette Spec Sch has grown by 102% since 2019/20. All the schools around Letterkenny together changed by +18%.
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.
Each of the 1 nearest special schools has more pupils than St Bernadette Spec Sch. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +102%; 0 of the 1 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Bernadette Spec Sch | 129 | +102% | Catholic | English | ||
| Little Angels Spec Sch | 145 | +49% | Catholic | English | 1.5 km |
Living in Letterkenny
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F92 Eircode area
Housing in Letterkenny →The median sale price rose from €188,000 in 2023 to €214,000 in 2025 (+14%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F92 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Letterkenny
Cost of living in Letterkenny →New tenancies in Letterkenny averaged €1,138 a month in 2025, against €1,043 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Letterkenny, F92 N289
Special schools near St Bernadette Spec Sch
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Bernadette Spec Sch
Is St Bernadette Spec Sch 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 Bernadette Spec Sch have?
129 pupils in 2025/26. That is +102% since 2019/20.
Does St Bernadette Spec Sch teach through Irish?
No: St Bernadette Spec Sch teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Bernadette Spec Sch?
St Bernadette Spec Sch has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Raphoe.
How do pupils get a place at St Bernadette Spec Sch?
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 Bernadette Spec Sch?
The nearest are Little Angels Spec Sch (1.5 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 Letterkenny; 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).