Photo: Treehill · CC BY-SA 4.0DEIS support is less common around Lusk: 0% of schools, below Co. Dublin’s towns and Irish towns
That leaves Lusk below both Co. Dublin’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (35%). None of its 11 schools is in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% of schools across Ireland are). With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
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 Lusk’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 Lusk Community College (1,104), Donabate Community College (799), Donabate/Portrane Educate Together NS (414), Rush and Lusk Educate Together NS (393) and Gaelscoil na Mara (123). Who runs them ↓
A wide choice at twelve
16 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Lusk Community College (0.9 km), Donabate Community College (4.2 km) and St Joseph's Secondary School (5.1 km). Post-primary choices ↓
No school in DEIS
None of the schools here is in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. Who runs them ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Who runs Lusk’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
6 of Lusk’s 11 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (6), Educate Together (2) and Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB (2). None of the 11 is 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 11 schools in and around Lusk 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 Lusk’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 Lusk
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
1 of Lusk’s 11 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil na Mara.
Who Lusk’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, 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 Lusk | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 0% | 28% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 3% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 47% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 0% | 38% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 18% | 6% |
Around Lusk, 0% of pupils attend a school in DEIS; across Ireland it is 27%, and 28% in Co. Dublin. Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at single-sex schools, at 0% against 29%.
Each of the 11 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. LuscaPrimary | 413 | 51% | ||
| Lusk Junior National School St MaccullinsPrimary | 366 | 49% | ||
| Rush and Lusk Educate Together NSPrimary | 393 | 45% | ||
| Lusk Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 1,104 | 48% | ||
| Corduff N.S.Primary | 83 | 48% | ||
| Baile FalbachPrimary | 69 | 38% | ||
| Donabate/Portrane Educate Together NSPrimary | 414 | 47% | ||
| Gaelscoil na MaraPrimary | 123 | 39% | ✓ | |
| Donabate Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 799 | 44% | ||
| St Patricks Boys National SchoolPrimary | 370 | 0% | ||
| S.N. C Naomh PadraigPrimary | 376 | 100% |
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 4 patrons of Lusk’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
The schools around Lusk answer to 4 patrons, and Archbishop of Dublin leads with 6 of the 11 schools and 37% of their pupils. Education and Training Boards run 2 of them. Educate Together runs 2.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinS.N. Lusca, S.N. C Naomh Padraig, St Patricks Boys, Lusk Junior National School St Maccullins, Corduff, Baile Falbach | Catholic | 6 | 1,677 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETBLusk, Donabate | Multi-denominational | 2 | 1,903 |
| Educate TogetherDonabate/Portrane Educate Together NS, Rush and Lusk Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 2 | 807 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil na Mara | Multi-denominational | 1 | 123 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Lusk
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 10 schools, 1 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 8 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
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 11 schools in and around Lusk
Every school in Lusk or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Inspection reports for Lusk’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 11 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| S.N. LuscaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Lusk Junior National School St MaccullinsPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Rush and Lusk Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Lusk Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Corduff N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Baile FalbachPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Donabate/Portrane Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil na MaraPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Donabate Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Patricks Boys National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. C Naomh PadraigPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Lusk
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Within 10 km of Lusk there are 16 post-primary schools: 8 ETB schools, 7 voluntary secondary schools and one community school. 3 teach girls and boys apart: 2 girls’ and 1 boys’ schools. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lusk Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,104 | 0.9 km |
| Donabate Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 799 | 4.2 km |
| St Joseph's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 945 | 5.1 km |
| Skerries Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,025 | 6.9 km |
| St Finians Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 671 | 7.6 km |
| Fingal Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 864 | 7.9 km |
| Ardgillan Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,014 | 8.4 km |
| Swords Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 952 | 8.4 km |
| Malahide & Portmarnock Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 696 | 8.8 km |
| Coláiste ChoilmVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 421 | 8.9 km |
| Bremore Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 824 | 9.2 km |
| Loreto CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 655 | 9.4 km |
All 16 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Ghlór na MaraVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 520 | 9.5 km |
| Balbriggan Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 686 | 9.7 km |
| Malahide Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,250 | 9.7 km |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 1,220 | 9.8 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Lusk
No special school is in or near Lusk. 4 of the 9 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.
Lusk beside the 88 other Irish towns of 6,200 to 11,900 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavan | 11,741 | 14 | 4,634 | 1 | 29% | 1.2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Glasnevin | 9,299 | 145 | 39,626 | 10 | 59% | 0.5 km |
| Portarlington | 9,288 | 5 | 2,657 | 0 | 0% | 1.3 km |
| Waterford City Centre | 9,031 | 33 | 12,411 | 2 | 39% | 0.5 km |
| Sandyford | 8,844 | 67 | 27,808 | 8 | 8% | 0.9 km |
| Lusk | 8,806 | 11 | 4,510 | 1 | 0% | 0.9 km |
| Raheny | 8,734 | 70 | 21,242 | 4 | 34% | 0.9 km |
| Ballyvolane | 8,707 | 60 | 16,728 | 8 | 45% | 1.9 km |
| Kilcock | 8,674 | 4 | 2,202 | 1 | 0% | 0.6 km |
| New Ross | 8,610 | 10 | 3,266 | 0 | 60% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Lisduggan | 6,216 | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.2 km |
Among the 88 other towns, 59 have more pupils at their schools than Lusk does. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 85 of the 89.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Lusk
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 Lusk had 3,924 pupils in 2015/16 and 4,510 in 2025/26. Lusk Community College grew most: +61% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Lusk
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 Lusk
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
Portrane has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Lusk changed by +6%; among its neighbours, Portrane’s grew most (+9%) and Skerries’s least (−8%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Lusk 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 Lusk
How many schools are there in Lusk?
In Lusk or within 3 km of it: 9 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, with 4,510 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Lusk that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil na Mara teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Lusk?
No: all 2 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Lusk?
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 Lusk?
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).