Rivermeade’s schools have 89% more pupils than in 2019/20
For Rivermeade, that is above both Co. Dublin’s towns (+4%) and Irish towns (+4%). Primary schools here average 85 pupils, against 175 across Ireland: small classes, often mixed ages. 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 Rivermeade’s schools
More pupils every year
Pupil numbers at the schools here have grown faster than across Ireland (+5% since 2019/20), so classes and new places are a question worth asking. Pupils over time ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 38 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Loreto College (3 km), Swords Community College (3.2 km) and Coláiste Choilm (4.4 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Pupil numbers around Rivermeade
Each September’s pupils at every school in or within 3 km of the town, counted where the school stands today.
The schools in and around Rivermeade had 800 pupils in 2015/16 and 1,862 in 2025/26. Swords Community College grew most: +473% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Rivermeade
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.
The 5 schools in and around Rivermeade
Each school in or within 3 km of Rivermeade links to a page of its own. There are no letters or results on these cards, because Ireland publishes none school by school.
Where the 5 schools in and around Rivermeade 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 Rivermeade’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 Rivermeade
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
None of the 5 schools in and around Rivermeade teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Rivermeade’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 Rivermeade | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 5% | 28% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 63% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 41% | 38% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 18% | 6% |
5% of the pupils around Rivermeade are at a DEIS school, fewer than the 27% across Ireland (28% in Co. Dublin). Set beside Ireland, girls stand out most: 63% against 49%. The largest DEIS school here is Mary Queen of Ireland N.S., with 95 pupils.
Each of the 5 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Queen of Ireland N.S.Primary | 95 | 40% | ✓ | |
| St Margarets N.S.Primary | 80 | 44% | ||
| Loreto CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 655 | 100% | ||
| Broadmeadow Community National SchoolPrimary | 80 | 39% | ||
| Swords Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 952 | 43% |
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.
Who runs Rivermeade’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
3 of Rivermeade’s 5 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (2), Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB (2) and Loreto Education Trust (1). 1 of the 5 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.
The 3 patrons of Rivermeade’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB is patron of 2 of the 5 schools around Rivermeade, which teach 55% of their pupils; 3 patrons run them in all. The local Education and Training Board runs 2.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETBSwords, Broadmeadow Community | Multi-denominational | 2 | 1,032 |
| Archbishop of DublinMary Queen of Ireland, St Margarets | Catholic | 2 | 175 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto College | Catholic | 1 | 655 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Rivermeade
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 4 schools, 1 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 1 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.
Inspection reports for Rivermeade’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
Each school is visited by inspectors from time to time, for a whole-school evaluation of teaching, learning and leadership, for one subject, or to follow up earlier advice, and every report is posted on gov.ie with the school’s response.
The reports describe what inspectors saw and what each school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the 5 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Mary Queen of Ireland N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Margarets N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Loreto CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Broadmeadow Community National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Swords Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Rivermeade
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Within 10 km of Rivermeade there are 38 post-primary schools: 23 voluntary secondary schools, 9 ETB schools, 5 community schools and one comprehensive school. 14 of them are single-sex, 8 for girls and 6 for boys. Every subject is taught through Irish at 2 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 655 | 3 km |
| Swords Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 952 | 3.2 km |
| Coláiste ChoilmVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 421 | 4.4 km |
| St Finians Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 671 | 4.7 km |
| Fingal Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 864 | 5 km |
| Malahide & Portmarnock Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 696 | 6.3 km |
| Trinity Comprehensive SchoolComprehensive · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 564 | 6.9 km |
| New Cross CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 417 | 7 km |
| Beneavin De La Salle CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 585 | 7 km |
| Coláiste EoinETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 257 | 7.2 km |
| St Michaels Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 646 | 7.2 km |
| St Kevins CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 503 | 7.5 km |
All 38 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Aidan's C.B.S.Voluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 725 | 8 km |
| Coolock Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 205 | 8 km |
| Rath Dara Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 323 | 8.1 km |
| Ellenfield Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 150 | 8.3 km |
| Our Lady Of Mercy CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 407 | 8.3 km |
| St Mary's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 830 | 8.6 km |
| Clonturk CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 968 | 8.6 km |
| Ashbourne Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,109 | 8.6 km |
| Le Cheile Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 944 | 8.8 km |
| Scoil ChaitrionaVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste, DEIS | 523 | 8.8 km |
| St Dominics CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 790 | 9 km |
| Dominican CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 799 | 9.1 km |
| Chanel CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 451 | 9.2 km |
| Maryfield CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 527 | 9.2 km |
| Cabra Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 264 | 9.3 km |
| Edmund Rice CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 912 | 9.3 km |
| St. David's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 550 | 9.3 km |
| Malahide Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,250 | 9.3 km |
| St Vincents C.B.S. GlasnevinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 408 | 9.4 km |
| Rosmini Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 139 | 9.5 km |
| St Declan's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 651 | 9.5 km |
| Mercy College CoolockVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 402 | 9.6 km |
| Coláiste MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste, DEIS | 272 | 9.6 km |
| Blakestown Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 563 | 9.7 km |
| Belmayne Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 595 | 9.7 km |
| Scoil Phobail Chuil MhinCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,014 | 9.9 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Rivermeade
No special school is in or near Rivermeade. 2 of the 3 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.
Rivermeade beside the 166 other Irish towns of 400 to 700 people
Towns of a similar size, with the schools in or within 3 km of each; ordered by population, never ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanagarry | 700 | 2 | 201 | 0 | 0% | 11 km |
| … | ||||||
| Moylough | 526 | 1 | 146 | 0 | 0% | 4.7 km |
| Oldtown | 523 | 2 | 435 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 km |
| Ballyoulster | 523 | 24 | 10,718 | 1 | 0% | 3.1 km |
| Mullinahone | 523 | 2 | 169 | 0 | 50% | 9 km |
| Rivermeade | 521 | 5 | 1,862 | 0 | 20% | 3.1 km |
| Cliffony | 521 | 2 | 131 | 0 | 0% | 6.2 km |
| Kildrum | 518 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 km |
| Knockraha | 517 | 1 | 147 | 0 | 0% | 4.3 km |
| Kildimo | 512 | 1 | 138 | 0 | 0% | 4.2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Oilgate | 401 | 2 | 152 | 0 | 100% | 6.2 km |
Of these 166 other towns, 7 count more pupils at their schools than Rivermeade. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 12 of the 167.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Schools in the towns around Rivermeade
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivermeade | 5 | 1,862 | 0 | 20% | 3.1 km |
| Swords 4 km | 24 | 10,901 | 2 | 13% | 0.8 km |
| Dubber 5.3 km | 54 | 15,781 | 5 | 67% | 1.8 km |
| Kinsealy-Drinan 5.9 km | 22 | 11,271 | 1 | 5% | 0.7 km |
| Santry 6.1 km | 64 | 20,947 | 7 | 64% | 1.7 km |
| Ballymun 6.1 km | 93 | 27,057 | 9 | 58% | 0.9 km |
| Finglas North 6.6 km | 73 | 21,290 | 8 | 62% | 0.7 km |
Ballymun has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 9. Of Rivermeade’s neighbours, Finglas North saw the most growth in pupils since 2019/20 (+7%) and Kinsealy-Drinan the least (−1%); Rivermeade itself: +89%.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Rivermeade 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 Rivermeade
How many schools are there in Rivermeade?
In Rivermeade or within 3 km of it: 3 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, with 1,862 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Rivermeade that teach through Irish?
None in Rivermeade or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Rivermeade?
No: all 2 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Rivermeade?
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 Rivermeade?
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).