Loreto Secondary School
Letterkenny, Co Donegal · F92 X981 · Roll number 62840U
Loreto Secondary School is one of 4 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Letterkenny. Every school in and around Letterkenny →
What stands out about Loreto Secondary School
- One of the larger post-primary schools: 938 pupils, against a typical 585.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+2%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- A girls’ school.
- A voluntary secondary school: owned by its trustees, most often a religious order or its successor trust, and paid for by the State.
- Its patron is Loreto Education Trust; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Loreto Secondary School had 938 pupils in 2025/26, against 929 in 2015/16 (+1%). Its largest roll was 961, in 2022/23. Its roll rose in 5 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Loreto Secondary 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 Loreto Secondary 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 Loreto Secondary 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 Loreto Secondary School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Loreto Secondary 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 takes girls only.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Loreto Secondary School is about the size it was in 2019/20 (+2%). 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 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 6 nearest post-primary schools, 1 have more pupils than Loreto Secondary School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +2%; 6 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto Secondary School | 938 | +2% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Eunan's College | 1,003 | +15% | Catholic | English | 0.3 km | |
| Errigal College | 662 | +153% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 1.5 km |
| Coláiste Ailigh | 324 | +23% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 1.9 km | |
| Deele College | 840 | +39% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 12 km |
| The Royal and Prior School | 609 | +13% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Loreto Community School | 810 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 16 km |
The other 20 post-primary schools in Co. Donegal
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mulroy College | 617 | +17% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Finn Valley College | 424 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| St Columbas College | 983 | +17% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh | 87 | −49% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 22 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School | 885 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Crana College | 585 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Coláiste Eoghain | 13 | −59% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 28 km | |
| Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola | 455 | +2% | Inter-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 31 km |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair | 414 | −8% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 38 km |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School | 400 | +4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 39 km |
| Rosses Community School | 509 | +26% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 39 km |
| Abbey Vocational School | 999 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 41 km | |
| Carndonagh Community School | 1,118 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 45 km |
| Coláiste Phobail Cholmcille | 11 | – | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 46 km |
| Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada | 61 | −26% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | 48 km |
| Moville Community College | 648 | +25% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 51 km |
| St. Catherine's Vocational School | 359 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 56 km |
| Coláiste Cholmcille | 682 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 57 km |
| Magh Ene College | 333 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 63 km | |
| Coláiste na Carraige | 210 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 66 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 X981
Post-primary schools near Loreto Secondary School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Loreto Secondary School
Is Loreto Secondary 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 Loreto Secondary School have?
938 pupils in 2025/26. That is +2% since 2019/20.
Does Loreto Secondary School teach through Irish?
No: Loreto Secondary School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Loreto Secondary School?
Loreto Secondary School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Loreto Education Trust.
How do pupils get a place at Loreto Secondary 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 Loreto Secondary School?
The nearest are St Eunan's College (0.3 km), Errigal College (1.5 km) and Coláiste Ailigh (1.9 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).