High Cross College
North Campus, Currylea, Tuam, Co Galway · H54 V260 · Roll number 68466G
High Cross College is one of 3 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Tuam. Every school in and around Tuam →
What stands out about High Cross College
- 777 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- On the lists since 2023/24: a new school, or a new roll after schools joined.
- The largest of the 3 post-primary schools around Tuam.
- 749 girls and 28 boys: more of one than the other.
- 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
2023/24 to 2025/26High Cross College had 777 pupils in 2025/26, down from 860 in 2023/24 (−10%). Girls are 96% of them. Its roll rose in 0 of the 2 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for High Cross 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 High Cross 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 High Cross 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 High Cross College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to High Cross 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.
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, 2 have more pupils than High Cross College.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Cross College | 777 | – | Catholic | English | ||
| St. Jarlaths College | 762 | +34% | Catholic | English | 0.4 km | |
| Archbishop McHale College | 479 | +94% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.9 km |
| Dunmore Community School | 367 | +29% | Inter-denominational | English | 13 km | |
| Presentation College | 857 | +10% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Coláiste Bhaile Chláir | 1,269 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 21 km | |
| Glenamaddy Community School | 433 | +15% | Inter-denominational | English | 21 km |
The other 37 post-primary schools in Co. Galway
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Rosary College | 720 | +2% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Coláiste an Eachréidh | 234 | −3% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 25 km | |
| Coláiste an Chreagáin | 116 | +47% | Multi-denominational | English | 25 km | |
| Presentation College | 1,100 | +2% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Clárin College | 1,140 | +118% | Multi-denominational | English | 26 km | |
| St. Cuan's College | 435 | +42% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College | 710 | +15% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 28 km |
| Calasanctius College | 906 | +6% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Galway Community College | 395 | +49% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| Galway City & Oranmore Educate Together Secondary School | 379 | +924% | Multi-denominational | English | 30 km | |
| St Joseph's College | 791 | +5% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Coláiste Iognáid S.J. | 637 | +2% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 31 km | |
| Coláiste Muire Máthair | 738 | – | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Dominican College | 564 | −11% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Coláiste Einde | 808 | +2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 32 km |
| Jesus & Mary Secondary School | 658 | +0% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Coláiste na Coiribe | 711 | +19% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 33 km | |
| St Pauls | 465 | +8% | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| St Killian's College (Coláiste Chilleáin Naofa) | 168 | +2% | Multi-denominational | English | 34 km | |
| Coláiste Mhuire | 306 | +26% | Catholic | English | 35 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Feichín | 63 | −19% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 40 km | |
| St Raphaels College | 749 | +12% | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| St Brigids College | 751 | +21% | Multi-denominational | English | 41 km | |
| Seamount College | 628 | +19% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| Colaiste Chroi Mhuire | 270 | +17% | Catholic | All in Irish | 43 km | |
| Clonfert College | 926 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 46 km |
| Colaiste Cholmcille | 101 | −11% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 47 km |
| Gort Community School | 1,043 | +22% | Inter-denominational | English | 51 km | |
| Coláiste Na bPiarsach | 54 | −17% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 52 km |
| Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin | 440 | +20% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 57 km |
| Mercy College | 157 | +6% | Catholic | English | 60 km | |
| Portumna Community School | 506 | +14% | Inter-denominational | English | 63 km | |
| Coláiste Ghobnait | 35 | +46% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 67 km | |
| Scoil Phobail Mhic Dara | 117 | +22% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 68 km |
| Coláiste Naomh Eoin | 41 | +3% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 69 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Éinne | 59 | +7% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 70 km | |
| Scoil Phobail | 489 | +13% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 78 km |
Living in Tuam
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the H54 Eircode area
Housing in Tuam →The median sale price rose from €220,000 in 2023 to €295,000 in 2025 (+34%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the H54 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Tuam
Cost of living in Tuam →New tenancies in Tuam averaged €1,331 a month in 2025, against €1,232 in 2024 (+8%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Tuam, H54 V260
Post-primary schools near High Cross College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about High Cross College
Is High Cross 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 High Cross College have?
777 pupils in 2025/26.
Does High Cross College teach through Irish?
No: High Cross College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs High Cross College?
High Cross College has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is CEIST.
How do pupils get a place at High Cross 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 High Cross College?
The nearest are St. Jarlaths College (0.4 km), Archbishop McHale College (0.9 km) and Dunmore Community School (13 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 Tuam; 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).