St Raphaels College
Loughrea, Co Galway · H62 K271 · Roll number 63070C
St Raphaels College is one of 2 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Loughrea. Every school in and around Loughrea →
What stands out about St Raphaels College
- 749 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+12%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- A voluntary secondary school: owned by its trustees, most often a religious order or its successor trust, and paid for by the State.
- Its patron is CEIST; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Raphaels College had 749 pupils in 2025/26, against 500 in 2015/16 (+50%). Girls are 47% of them. Its roll rose in 9 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 Raphaels College
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 Raphaels College 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 Raphaels College
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 Raphaels College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to St Raphaels College 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St Raphaels College has grown by 12% since 2019/20. All the schools around Loughrea together changed by +10%.
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, 3 have more pupils than St Raphaels College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +12%; 2 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Raphaels College | 749 | +12% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Brigids College | 751 | +21% | Multi-denominational | English | 0.3 km | |
| St Killian's College (Coláiste Chilleáin Naofa) | 168 | +2% | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| Clárin College | 1,140 | +118% | Multi-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| Coláiste an Eachréidh | 234 | −3% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 17 km | |
| Presentation College | 1,100 | +2% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Mercy College | 157 | +6% | Catholic | English | 20 km |
The other 37 post-primary schools in Co. Galway
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gort Community School | 1,043 | +22% | Inter-denominational | English | 22 km | |
| Clonfert College | 926 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Portumna Community School | 506 | +14% | Inter-denominational | English | 26 km | |
| Seamount College | 628 | +19% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Calasanctius College | 906 | +6% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| St. Cuan's College | 435 | +42% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Coláiste Bhaile Chláir | 1,269 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 29 km | |
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College | 710 | +15% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Coláiste an Chreagáin | 116 | +47% | Multi-denominational | English | 30 km | |
| Holy Rosary College | 720 | +2% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Galway Community College | 395 | +49% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 33 km |
| Galway City & Oranmore Educate Together Secondary School | 379 | +924% | Multi-denominational | English | 34 km | |
| St Joseph's College | 791 | +5% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Coláiste Iognáid S.J. | 637 | +2% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 34 km | |
| Coláiste Muire Máthair | 738 | – | Catholic | English | 35 km | |
| Dominican College | 564 | −11% | Catholic | English | 35 km | |
| Jesus & Mary Secondary School | 658 | +0% | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| Coláiste Einde | 808 | +2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 36 km |
| Coláiste na Coiribe | 711 | +19% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 38 km | |
| Archbishop McHale College | 479 | +94% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| Coláiste Mhuire | 306 | +26% | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| St. Jarlaths College | 762 | +34% | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| High Cross College | 777 | – | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| Glenamaddy Community School | 433 | +15% | Inter-denominational | English | 46 km | |
| Presentation College | 857 | +10% | Catholic | English | 47 km | |
| Dunmore Community School | 367 | +29% | Inter-denominational | English | 48 km | |
| Colaiste Chroi Mhuire | 270 | +17% | Catholic | All in Irish | 50 km | |
| Colaiste Cholmcille | 101 | −11% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 55 km |
| St Pauls | 465 | +8% | Catholic | English | 57 km | |
| Coláiste Ghobnait | 35 | +46% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 66 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Feichín | 63 | −19% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 69 km | |
| Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin | 440 | +20% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 69 km |
| Coláiste Naomh Eoin | 41 | +3% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 70 km | |
| Coláiste Na bPiarsach | 54 | −17% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 73 km |
| Coláiste Naomh Éinne | 59 | +7% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 74 km | |
| Scoil Phobail Mhic Dara | 117 | +22% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 85 km |
| Scoil Phobail | 489 | +13% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 102 km |
Living in Loughrea
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the H62 Eircode area
Housing in Loughrea →The median sale price rose from €225,000 in 2023 to €335,000 in 2025 (+49%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the H62 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Loughrea
Cost of living in Loughrea →New tenancies in Loughrea averaged €1,283 a month in 2025, against €1,160 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Loughrea, H62 K271
Post-primary schools near St Raphaels College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Raphaels College
Is St Raphaels College 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 Raphaels College have?
749 pupils in 2025/26. That is +12% since 2019/20.
Does St Raphaels College teach through Irish?
No: St Raphaels College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Raphaels College?
St Raphaels College has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is CEIST.
How do pupils get a place at St Raphaels College?
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 Raphaels College?
The nearest are St Brigids College (0.3 km), St Killian's College (Coláiste Chilleáin Naofa) (12 km) and Clárin College (17 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 Loughrea; 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).