Photo: sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.016 schools in and around Athgarvan: 10 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 1 special school
DEIS, the extra support for schools serving disadvantaged areas, reaches 31% of the schools around Athgarvan, above Co. Kildare’s towns (3%) but below Irish towns (35%). They have 7,083 pupils between them, in or within 3 km of Athgarvan. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Athgarvan’s schools
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 8 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Cross And Passion College (3.2 km), Curragh Community College (3.6 km) and Holy Family Secondary School (3.7 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Where the 16 schools in and around Athgarvan 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 Athgarvan’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 Athgarvan
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
1 of Athgarvan’s 16 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Chill Dara.
Who Athgarvan’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Kildare’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 Athgarvan | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 27% | 17% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 48% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 48% | 26% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 6% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 27% of the pupils around Athgarvan, much as across Ireland (27%; Co. Kildare: 17%). Set beside Ireland, post-primary pupils at single-sex schools stand out most: 48% against 29%. The largest DEIS school here is St Conleth's Community College, with 752 pupils.
Each of the 16 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil BridePrimary | 304 | 47% | ||
| Gaelscoil Chill DaraPrimary | 288 | 51% | ✓ | |
| Newbridge Educate Together NSPrimary | 406 | 50% | ||
| St Annes Special SchoolSpecial | 74 | 35% | ||
| St. Catherine of SiennaPrimary | 151 | 54% | ✓ | |
| Curragh Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 288 | 51% | ✓ | |
| St Brigids N.S.Primary | 598 | 53% | ||
| Scoil Chonnla PhadraigPrimary | 306 | 49% | ||
| Cross And Passion CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 843 | 47% | ||
| Holy Family Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 789 | 100% | ||
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | 389 | 46% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Connlaodh Naofa NPrimary | 285 | 47% | ||
| St Conleths and Marys N.S.Primary | 345 | 49% | ||
| Ballymany Junior N.S.Primary | 333 | 50% | ✓ | |
| Patrician Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 932 | 0% | ||
| St Conleth's Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 752 | 51% | ✓ |
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 Athgarvan’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
13 of Athgarvan’s 16 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (7), Kildare & Wicklow ETB (2) and Le Chéile Schools Trust (2). 5 of the 16 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 8 patrons of Athgarvan’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin is patron of 7 of the 16 schools around Athgarvan, which teach 39% of their pupils; 8 patrons run them in all. The local Education and Training Board runs 2. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinHoly Family, Scoil Mhuire, St Conleths and Marys, Ballymany Junior, Scoil Chonnla Phadraig, Scoil Bride, S.N. Connlaodh Naofa N | Catholic | 7 | 2,751 |
| Le Chéile Schools TrustPatrician, Cross And Passion College | Catholic | 2 | 1,775 |
| Kildare & Wicklow ETBSt Conleth's, Curragh | Multi-denominational | 2 | 1,040 |
| Archbishop of DublinSt Brigids | Catholic | 1 | 598 |
| Educate TogetherNewbridge Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 406 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Chill Dara | Catholic | 1 | 288 |
| Joint patronage between the Minister for Defence and the Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinSt. Catherine of Sienna | Catholic | 1 | 151 |
| KARE, Promoting Inclusion for People with Intellectual DisabilitiesSt Annes Special School | Catholic | 1 | 74 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Athgarvan
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
4 schools here have grown by 5% or more since 2019/20, 7 have shrunk by as much, out of 14; across Ireland: +5%.
All 14 schools
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 16 schools in and around Athgarvan
Every school in Athgarvan or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. Results by school aren’t published in Ireland, so the cards carry none.
Inspection reports for Athgarvan’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 16 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Scoil BridePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil Chill DaraPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Newbridge Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Annes Special SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St. Catherine of SiennaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Curragh Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Brigids N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Chonnla PhadraigPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Cross And Passion CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Holy Family Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Connlaodh Naofa NPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Conleths and Marys N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Ballymany Junior N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Patrician Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Conleth's 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 Athgarvan
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
Families in Athgarvan have 8 post-primary schools within 10 km: 4 voluntary secondary schools, 3 ETB schools and one community school. 2 teach girls and boys apart: 1 girls’ and 1 boys’ schools. One of them charges fees. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross And Passion CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 843 | 3.2 km |
| Curragh Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 288 | 3.6 km |
| Holy Family Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 789 | 3.7 km |
| St Conleth's Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 752 | 3.8 km |
| Patrician Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 932 | 3.8 km |
| Newbridge CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 923 | 4.3 km |
| Piper's Hill CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 1,049 | 8.9 km |
| Kildare Town Community SchoolCommunity school · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,014 | 9.2 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Athgarvan
St Annes Special School is the special school here, with 74 pupils. 7 of the 10 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.
Athgarvan beside the 136 other Irish towns of 800 to 1,600 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilbeggan | 1,575 | 2 | 966 | 0 | 0% | 1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clonee | 1,205 | 25 | 12,320 | 2 | 28% | 1.3 km |
| Urlingford | 1,196 | 2 | 882 | 0 | 100% | 3.1 km |
| Kinlough | 1,196 | 3 | 898 | 0 | 33% | 3.2 km |
| Kentstown | 1,195 | 1 | 214 | 0 | 0% | 8.1 km |
| Athgarvan | 1,193 | 16 | 7,083 | 1 | 31% | 3.2 km |
| Newtowncunningham | 1,192 | 2 | 280 | 0 | 50% | 14 km |
| Mooncoin | 1,184 | 4 | 765 | 0 | 75% | 0.6 km |
| Kilworth | 1,179 | 2 | 371 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 km |
| Charlestown-Bellahy | 1,172 | 2 | 491 | 0 | 50% | 0.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Ballon | 801 | 1 | 239 | 0 | 0% | 7.5 km |
Of these 136 other towns, 4 count more pupils at their schools than Athgarvan. Teaching through Irish is on offer within 3 km in 15 of the 137.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Athgarvan
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Athgarvan had 7,068 pupils in 2015/16 and 7,083 in 2025/26. Curragh Community College grew most: +112% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Athgarvan
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 Athgarvan
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
Naas has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. Pupils around Athgarvan: +2% since 2019/20. Among the neighbours, Carragh led (+43%) and Kilcullen trailed (−1%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Athgarvan 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 Athgarvan
How many schools are there in Athgarvan?
In Athgarvan or within 3 km of it: 10 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 7,083 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Athgarvan that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil Chill Dara teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Athgarvan?
No: all 5 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Athgarvan?
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 Athgarvan?
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).