Photo: Offdaw · CC BY-SA 4.0Multi-denominational schools: 9 of the 16 around Balrothery
Girls and boys are taught apart at 20% of the post-primaries around Balrothery, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (39%). 7,860 pupils go to the 11 primary schools and 5 secondary schools in or within 3 km of Balrothery. These schools are described rather than graded, because Ireland publishes no school results and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Counted from the Department of Education’s 2025/26 lists: every school in the town or within 3 km of it, against every school in Ireland.
What stands out about Balrothery’s schools
A choice beyond the church schools
Most schools in Ireland have a church patron; here more of them are multi- or inter-denominational than in most places (14% across Ireland). They are Ardgillan Community College (1,014), Bremore Educate Together Secondary School (824), Balbriggan Community College (686) and Coláiste Ghlór na Mara (520), and 5 more. Who runs them ↓
A wide choice at twelve
9 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Ardgillan Community College (1.7 km), Bremore Educate Together Secondary School (2.4 km) and Coláiste Ghlór na Mara (2.8 km). Post-primary choices ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Who runs Balrothery’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
6 of Balrothery’s 16 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (5), Educate Together (4) and Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB (3). 5 of the 16 are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% across Ireland).
Department of Education school lists: ethos 2025/26, patron 2024/25 (the 2025/26 lists don’t give it). DEIS list 2025/26.
Where the 16 schools in and around Balrothery are
Each school where the official list places it, shaded by who runs it and sized by pupils; squares are secondary schools, triangles special schools. The dashed shape is Balrothery’s outline; schools within 3 km of it count.
Places from the Department of Education’s school lists (its own coordinates for all but a handful); map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Teaching through Irish in and around Balrothery
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
2 of Balrothery’s 16 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Bhaile Brigin and Coláiste Ghlór na Mara.
Who Balrothery’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Dublin’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Balrothery | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 27% | 28% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 11% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 53% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 29% | 38% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 18% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 27% of the pupils around Balrothery, much as across Ireland (27%; Co. Dublin: 28%). The biggest difference from Ireland is in post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools: 0% here, 6% there. Of the DEIS schools here, Balbriggan Community College is the biggest: 686 pupils.
Each of the 16 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blessed Oliver N.S.Primary | 298 | 46% | ||
| Ardgillan Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 1,014 | 38% | ||
| Gaelscoil Bhaile BriginPrimary | 306 | 54% | ✓ | |
| Bracken Educate Together NSPrimary | 375 | 47% | ✓ | |
| S N Naomh TeresaPrimary | 364 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Scoil ChormaicPrimary | 362 | 47% | ||
| Bremore Educate Together Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 824 | 40% | ||
| S.N. Peadar agus Pol NPrimary | 357 | 52% | ||
| Balbriggan Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 686 | 38% | ✓ | |
| St Georges N.S.Primary | 339 | 49% | ||
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,220 | 100% | ||
| Coláiste Ghlór na MaraPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 520 | 48% | ✓ | |
| Balbriggan Educate Together NSPrimary | 356 | 45% | ✓ | |
| St Molaga Senior N.S.Primary | 422 | 50% | ||
| Scoil MoibhiPrimary | 84 | 37% | ||
| Skerries Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | 333 | 42% | ✓ |
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary): enrolments by sex and the DEIS list. Shares are of pupils, not of schools; a county’s are the schools listed with its towns.
The 6 patrons of Balrothery’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
Of the 16 schools around Balrothery, 5 have Archbishop of Dublin as patron, teaching 19% of the pupils; 6 patrons in all. Education and Training Boards run 3 of them. Educate Together runs 4.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinSt Molaga Senior, S N Naomh Teresa, S.N. Peadar agus Pol N, Blessed Oliver, Scoil Moibhi | Catholic | 5 | 1,525 |
| Educate TogetherBremore Educate Together, Bracken Educate Together NS, Balbriggan Educate Together NS, Skerries Educate Together | Multi-denominational | 4 | 1,888 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETBArdgillan, Balbriggan, Scoil Chormaic | Multi-denominational, Inter-denominational | 3 | 2,062 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaColáiste Ghlór na Mara, Gaelscoil Bhaile Brigin | Multi-denominational, Inter-denominational | 2 | 826 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto | Catholic | 1 | 1,220 |
| Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COISt Georges | Church of Ireland | 1 | 339 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Balrothery
Starting primary school
Children can start primary school once they are four, and must be in school by six. Families apply to each school directly. Every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice; a school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its policy. Since the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, a Catholic or other majority-faith primary school can’t put baptised children first; a school of a minority faith still can, to keep its ethos.
Moving to secondary school
Children move to post-primary school at about twelve, after sixth class. Again, families apply to each school, usually a year or more ahead, and an oversubscribed school admits on its published criteria, often brothers and sisters and its feeder primary schools.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Of these 16 schools, 4 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 10 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
All 16 schools
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September, 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary). No capacity is published, so how full a school is can’t be shown.
The 16 schools in and around Balrothery
Here are the schools in Balrothery or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Inspection reports for Balrothery’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
The Inspectorate inspects schools in several ways: a whole-school evaluation covers teaching, learning and how the school is led; a subject inspection looks at one subject; a follow-through checks on earlier advice. Reports go on gov.ie with the school’s reply.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 16 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Blessed Oliver N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Ardgillan Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil Bhaile BriginPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Bracken Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S N Naomh TeresaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil ChormaicPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Bremore Educate Together Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Peadar agus Pol NPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Balbriggan Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Georges N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Coláiste Ghlór na MaraPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Balbriggan Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Molaga Senior N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil MoibhiPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Skerries Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Balrothery
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Within 10 km of Balrothery there are 9 post-primary schools: 5 voluntary secondary schools and 4 ETB schools. Only one teaches girls and boys apart. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardgillan Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,014 | 1.7 km |
| Bremore Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 824 | 2.4 km |
| Coláiste Ghlór na MaraVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 520 | 2.8 km |
| Balbriggan Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 686 | 2.8 km |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 1,220 | 2.9 km |
| Skerries Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,025 | 4.6 km |
| Franciscan CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 321 | 6.3 km |
| Lusk Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,104 | 6.5 km |
| St Joseph's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 945 | 9.6 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Balrothery
No special school is in or near Balrothery. 7 of the 11 primary schools have special classes for children who need more support. Their cards ↑
Special schools and primary schools with special classes as the Department lists them; the National Council for Special Education places pupils in special classes.
Balrothery beside the 100 other Irish towns of 1,600 to 3,100 people
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km, listed by population: Ireland publishes no results, so none is ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinnegad | 3,064 | 1 | 413 | 0 | 0% | 7.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Castlerea | 2,348 | 5 | 959 | 0 | 80% | 0.3 km |
| Bearna | 2,336 | 10 | 4,172 | 4 | 10% | 2.8 km |
| Tubbercurry | 2,307 | 4 | 1,130 | 0 | 25% | 1.7 km |
| Thomastown | 2,305 | 2 | 732 | 0 | 50% | 0.1 km |
| Balrothery | 2,282 | 16 | 7,860 | 2 | 31% | 1.7 km |
| Maigh Cuilinn | 2,279 | 3 | 542 | 1 | 0% | 8.3 km |
| Clogherhead | 2,275 | 2 | 568 | 0 | 0% | 9.1 km |
| Rathdrum | 2,264 | 4 | 1,116 | 0 | 75% | 0.3 km |
| Rosslare Harbour | 2,247 | 3 | 468 | 0 | 67% | 13 km |
| … | ||||||
| Castlemartyr | 1,603 | 2 | 314 | 0 | 0% | 8 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 12 of the other 100 towns than around Balrothery. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 30 of the 101.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Balrothery
Pupils every September at the schools in or within 3 km of the town, each counted at today’s site.
The schools in and around Balrothery had 6,680 pupils in 2015/16 and 7,860 in 2025/26. Bremore Educate Together Secondary School grew most: +124% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Balrothery
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year, 2015/16 to 2025/26 (preliminary), for every school placed in the area today; schools that have since closed or merged count where they stood.
Schools in the towns around Balrothery
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
The roll around Balrothery moved +1% since 2019/20; nearby, Portrane grew most (+9%) and Stamullen least (−20%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Balrothery or within 3 km of its outline, as the Department places it: families here use them. Schools further out are on the map of each school’s own page.
- The kinds of school. Primary schools take children from junior infants to sixth class, about ages 4 to 12. Post-primary schools teach the Junior and Leaving Certificate, about ages 12 to 18: voluntary secondary schools (mostly with a religious patron), ETB schools and community colleges run by an Education and Training Board, and community and comprehensive schools. Special schools teach children with particular needs.
- Teaching through Irish. All-Irish: every subject taught through Irish, in the Gaeltacht or, outside it, a Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste. Partly in Irish: an Irish stream (some classes entirely through Irish) or some subjects through Irish. Every other school teaches Irish as a subject.
- 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.
- Ethos and patron. Most Irish schools are owned by a patron, mostly a church; the patron sets the school’s ethos. Multi-denominational schools (Educate Together, many ETB schools) teach children of every faith and none together.
- No grade. Section 53 of the Education Act 1998 lets the Minister refuse to release information that would allow schools’ exam results to be compared, and no results are published school by school. So Ireland’s schools have no letters and its towns no School Grade; nothing on this page ranks them.
- What isn’t here. What the UK and French pages show from results, these can’t: results charts, results against pupils’ backgrounds and towns ranked by their schools (no published results), and how full each school is (no capacity is published). Every post-primary school teaches to the Leaving Certificate, so there is no sixth-form split to show.
- Inspections. The Inspectorate’s reports are linked from each school’s page. They give no overall grade, so none is shown.
- The year. The 2025/26 lists are the Department’s preliminary release; numbers can change a little in the final lists.
Questions about schools in Balrothery
How many schools are there in Balrothery?
In Balrothery or within 3 km of it: 11 primary schools and 5 secondary schools, with 7,860 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Balrothery that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: Gaelscoil Bhaile Brigin and Coláiste Ghlór na Mara teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Balrothery?
No: all 5 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Balrothery?
We don’t say. Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them; a ranking would rest on guesses. Each school’s page has its own facts and a link to its inspection reports, and visiting the schools you are weighing is still the best guide.
How do I get a place at a school in Balrothery?
Apply to each school directly: every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates. If it has more applicants than places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · one school placed with OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
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).