St Raphaels Special Sch
CLANE ROAD, CELBRIDGE · W23 F2P5 · Roll number 18988G
St Raphaels Special Sch is the only one of the special schools in or within 3 km of Celbridge. Every school in and around Celbridge →
What stands out about St Raphaels Special Sch
- One of the larger special schools: 96 pupils, against a typical 58.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 96 pupils, 25% more than the 77 of 2019/20.
- 27 girls and 69 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Archbishop of Dublin; its ethos is Catholic.
- The only special school in Celbridge or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Raphaels Special Sch had 96 pupils in 2025/26, against 64 in 2015/16 (+50%). Girls are 28% of them. Its largest roll was 97, in 2024/25. Its roll rose in 7 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 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 Raphaels 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 Raphaels 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 Raphaels Special Sch
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Raphaels 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 Raphaels Special Sch has grown by 25% since 2019/20. All the schools around Celbridge together changed by +9%.
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, 1 have more pupils than St Raphaels Special Sch. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +25%; 1 of the 4 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Raphaels Special Sch | 96 | +25% | Catholic | English | ||
| Lucan Community Special School | 0 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 6.1 km | |
| Stepping Stones Special School | 42 | +40% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 6.2 km | |
| Scoil Mochua | 69 | −7% | Catholic | English | 8.4 km | |
| Stewarts School | 145 | +23% | Multi-denominational | English | 8.5 km | |
| Ballydowd High Support Special School | 7 | – | Inter-denominational | English | 9.5 km | |
| Saplings Special School | 30 | +3% | Multi-denominational | English | 10 km |
The other 3 special schools in Co. Kildare
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craddockstown School | 40 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 16 km | |
| St Marks Special School | 109 | +16% | Multi-denominational | English | 24 km | |
| St Annes Special School | 74 | −8% | Catholic | English | 27 km |
Living in Celbridge
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the W23 Eircode area
Housing in Celbridge →The median sale price rose from €450,000 in 2023 to €485,000 in 2025 (+8%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the W23 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Celbridge
Cost of living in Celbridge →New tenancies in Celbridge averaged €1,848 a month in 2025, against €1,737 in 2024 (+6%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Celbridge, W23 F2P5
Special schools near St Raphaels 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 Raphaels Special Sch
Is St Raphaels 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 Raphaels Special Sch have?
96 pupils in 2025/26. That is +25% since 2019/20.
Does St Raphaels Special Sch teach through Irish?
No: St Raphaels Special Sch teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Raphaels Special Sch?
St Raphaels Special Sch has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Archbishop of Dublin.
How do pupils get a place at St Raphaels 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 Raphaels Special Sch?
The nearest are Lucan Community Special School (6.1 km), Stepping Stones Special School (6.2 km) and Scoil Mochua (8.4 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 Celbridge; 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).