The Royal and Prior School
RAPHOE, Lifford, Co. Donegal · F93 T298 · Roll number 81011L
The Royal and Prior School is one of 2 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Raphoe. Every school in and around Raphoe →
What stands out about The Royal and Prior School
- 609 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+13%).
- 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.
- Takes day pupils and boarders.
- A comprehensive school: founded by the State with a church partner, which shares its board.
- Its patron is Minister for Education; its ethos is Church of Ireland.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26The Royal and Prior School had 609 pupils in 2025/26, against 581 in 2015/16 (+5%). Girls are 52% of them. Its largest roll was 611, in 2024/25. 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 The Royal and Prior 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 The Royal and Prior 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 The Royal and Prior 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 The Royal and Prior School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to The Royal and Prior 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. It takes boarders as well as day pupils.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: The Royal and Prior School has grown by 13% since 2019/20. All the schools around Raphoe together changed by +20%.
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, 4 have more pupils than The Royal and Prior School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +13%; 5 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Royal and Prior School | 609 | +13% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | |
| Deele College | 840 | +39% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.9 km |
| Loreto Secondary School | 938 | +2% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| St Eunan's College | 1,003 | +15% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Coláiste Ailigh | 324 | +23% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 13 km | |
| Errigal College | 662 | +153% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Finn Valley College | 424 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 14 km |
The other 20 post-primary schools in Co. Donegal
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Columbas College | 983 | +17% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Loreto Community School | 810 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 25 km | |
| Mulroy College | 617 | +17% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh | 87 | −49% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 29 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School | 885 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Crana College | 585 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Coláiste Eoghain | 13 | −59% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 31 km | |
| Abbey Vocational School | 999 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 42 km | |
| Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola | 455 | +2% | Inter-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 44 km |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School | 400 | +4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 45 km |
| Carndonagh Community School | 1,118 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 46 km |
| Moville Community College | 648 | +25% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 49 km |
| Rosses Community School | 509 | +26% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 49 km |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair | 414 | −8% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 50 km |
| Coláiste Cholmcille | 682 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 56 km |
| Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada | 61 | −26% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | 59 km |
| Coláiste Phobail Cholmcille | 11 | – | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 59 km |
| St. Catherine's Vocational School | 359 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 60 km |
| Magh Ene College | 333 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 63 km | |
| Coláiste na Carraige | 210 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 71 km |
Living in Raphoe
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F93 Eircode area
Housing in Raphoe →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 Co. Donegal
Cost of living in Raphoe →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 ↗Raphoe, F93 T298
Post-primary schools near The Royal and Prior School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about The Royal and Prior School
Is The Royal and Prior 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 The Royal and Prior School have?
609 pupils in 2025/26. That is +13% since 2019/20.
Does The Royal and Prior School teach through Irish?
No: The Royal and Prior School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs The Royal and Prior School?
The Royal and Prior School has a Church of Ireland ethos. Its patron is Minister for Education.
How do pupils get a place at The Royal and Prior 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 The Royal and Prior School?
The nearest are Deele College (0.9 km), Loreto Secondary School (13 km) and St Eunan's College (13 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 Raphoe; 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).