St Peters Special Sch
St Peters School, 59 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6 · D06 X594 · Roll number 18904U
St Peters Special Sch is one of 10 special schools in or within 3 km of Rathgar. Every school in and around Rathgar →
What stands out about St Peters Special Sch
- 70 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 70 pupils, 17% more than the 60 of 2019/20.
- 18 girls and 52 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Archbishop of Dublin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Peters Special Sch had 70 pupils in 2025/26, against 59 in 2015/16 (+19%). Girls are 26% of them. Its roll rose in 4 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 Peters Special 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 Peters Special 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 Peters Special 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 Peters Special Sch
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Peters Special 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 Peters Special Sch has grown by 17% since 2019/20. All the schools around Rathgar together changed by +8%.
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.
Of the 6 nearest special schools, 2 have more pupils than St Peters Special Sch. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +17%; 1 of the 4 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Peters Special Sch | 70 | +17% | Catholic | English | ||
| Our Lady of Hope School | 45 | – | Catholic | English | 2.7 km | |
| Scoil Eoin | 142 | +5% | Catholic | English | 2.7 km | |
| Libermann Spiritan School | 51 | – | Catholic | English | 3 km | |
| Catherine Mc Auley N Sc | 99 | +0% | Catholic | English | 3.2 km | |
| St Declans Special Sch | 35 | −3% | Catholic | English | 3.4 km | |
| Cheeverstown Sp Sch | 29 | +45% | Catholic | English | 3.5 km |
The other 48 special schools in Co. Dublin
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saplings Special School | 30 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 3.6 km | |
| Solas Hospital School | 98 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | 3.7 km | |
| Enable Ireland Sandymount School | 49 | +14% | Catholic | English | 4 km | |
| Setanta Special School | 68 | +28% | Multi-denominational | English | 4 km | |
| St John of God Sp Sch | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 4.6 km | |
| An Cosan CSS | 56 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 4.6 km | |
| Henrietta Street School | 20 | +0% | Catholic | English | 4.7 km | |
| An Taonad Reamhscoile | 96 | −3% | Catholic | English | 5 km | |
| St Josephs Special Sch | 86 | +4% | Catholic | English | 5.1 km | |
| Hospital School CHI at Temple Street | 66 | −3% | Catholic | English | 5.1 km | |
| St L O Tooles 2 Spec | 14 | −42% | Catholic | English | 5.2 km | |
| St Roses Special School | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 5.6 km | |
| Benincasa Special School | 35 | −22% | Catholic | English | 5.7 km | |
| ABACAS Special School for Children with Autism | 30 | +3% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 6 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 6.1 km | |
| St Joseph's Adolescent School | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 6.2 km | |
| St Augustines School | 157 | −1% | Catholic | English | 6.3 km | |
| Holy Family School for the Deaf | 134 | −4% | Catholic | English | 6.5 km | |
| St Josephs for Blind N.S. | 48 | −16% | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| Casa Caterina S S | 31 | −6% | Catholic | English | 7.3 km | |
| Phoenix Park Specialist School | 17 | – | Catholic | English | 7.5 km | |
| St Vincents Home NS | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 7.6 km | |
| The Adelaide and Meath Hospital | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 7.6 km | |
| St Michaels Spec School | 163 | −2% | Catholic | English | 7.6 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 64 | +31% | Catholic | English | 7.7 km | |
| Central Remedial Clinic | 78 | −18% | Catholic | English | 7.9 km | |
| St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 7.9 km | |
| Red Door Special School | 29 | +21% | Other | English | 8 km | |
| St Ciarans Spec Sch | 140 | +0% | Catholic | English | 8.1 km | |
| Linn Dara Schools | 51 | +70% | Multi-denominational | English | 8.2 km | |
| Our Lady of Lourdes School | 6 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 8.7 km | |
| Youth Encounter Project | 14 | – | Catholic | English | 8.8 km | |
| St Pauls Hospital Special School | 54 | +0% | Catholic | English | 9.2 km | |
| Beaumont Hospital Special School | 9 | – | Other | English | 9.5 km | |
| Carmona Special National School | 37 | +3% | Catholic | English | 9.5 km | |
| Scoil Mochua | 69 | −7% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Ballydowd High Support Special School | 7 | – | Inter-denominational | English | 10 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Sp Sch | 52 | −10% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Stewarts School | 145 | +23% | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| St Michael's House Special National School Foxfield | 61 | +144% | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| Belmayne Community Special School | 2 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| ABACAS Kilbarrack | 54 | +10% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 11 km | |
| Ballyowen Meadows | 53 | +13% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Danu Community Special School | 43 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| Lucan Community Special School | 0 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 13 km | |
| St Michaels House Special School | 56 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 14 km | |
| Crannog Nua Special School | 5 | – | Other | English | 22 km | |
| St Michaels Spec Sch | 30 | +0% | Catholic | English | 30 km |
Living in Rathgar
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the D06 Eircode area
Housing in Rathgar →The median sale price rose from €680,000 in 2023 to €751,000 in 2025 (+10%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the D06 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Rathgar
Cost of living in Rathgar →New tenancies in Rathgar averaged €1,779 a month in 2025, against €1,739 in 2024 (+2%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Rathgar, D06 X594
Special schools near St Peters Special 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 Peters Special Sch
Is St Peters Special 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 Peters Special Sch have?
70 pupils in 2025/26. That is +17% since 2019/20.
Does St Peters Special Sch teach through Irish?
No: St Peters Special Sch teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Peters Special Sch?
St Peters Special Sch has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Archbishop of Dublin.
How do pupils get a place at St Peters Special 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 Peters Special Sch?
The nearest are Our Lady of Hope School (2.7 km), Scoil Eoin (2.7 km) and Libermann Spiritan School (3 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 Rathgar; 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).