Salesian College
Celbridge, Co Kildare · W23 W0XK · Roll number 61661P
Salesian College is one of 4 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Celbridge. Every school in and around Celbridge →
What stands out about Salesian College
- One of the larger post-primary schools: 880 pupils, against a typical 585.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 880 pupils, 25% more than the 702 of 2019/20.
- A boys’ school.
- The largest of the 4 post-primary schools around Celbridge.
- 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 Salesian Fathers of Don Bosco; its ethos is Catholic.
- Outside Celbridge’s outline, 0.4 km away; listed with Celbridge, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Salesian College had 880 pupils in 2025/26, against 705 in 2015/16 (+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 Salesian 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 Salesian 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 Salesian 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 Salesian College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Salesian 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.
It takes boys only.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Salesian College 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 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 Salesian College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +25%; 1 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salesian College | 880 | +25% | Catholic | English | ||
| Celbridge Community School | 712 | +32% | Multi-denominational | English | 0.2 km | |
| St Wolstan's Community School | 846 | +17% | Inter-denominational | English | 2.8 km | |
| Coláiste Chiaráin | 676 | +10% | Inter-denominational | English | 3.5 km | |
| Gaelcholáiste Mhaigh Nuad | 154 | – | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 3.8 km | |
| Confey Community College | 934 | +22% | Inter-denominational | English | 3.9 km | |
| Maynooth Post Primary School | 1,018 | +5% | Multi-denominational | English | 4.2 km |
The other 22 post-primary schools in Co. Kildare
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maynooth Community College | 1,013 | +66% | Multi-denominational | English | 5.1 km | |
| Scoil Dara | 828 | −10% | Catholic | English | 9.3 km | |
| Clongowes Wood College | 421 | −6% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Community School | 1,189 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| St Farnan's Post Primary School | 676 | +50% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Naas Community College | 928 | +95% | Multi-denominational | English | 16 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Mhuire | 1,076 | +3% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Meánscoil Iognáid Ris | 1,013 | +0% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara | 401 | +8% | Catholic | All in Irish | 18 km | |
| Piper's Hill College | 1,049 | +12% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Newbridge College | 923 | +4% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Holy Family Secondary School | 789 | +11% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Patrician Secondary School | 932 | +5% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| St Conleth's Community College | 752 | +37% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Cross And Passion College | 843 | +1% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Curragh Community College | 288 | +112% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Kildare Town Community School | 1,014 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 32 km | |
| Ardscoil Rath Iomgháin | 751 | +8% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 33 km |
| St Pauls Secondary School | 843 | +68% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 42 km |
| Athy Community College | 646 | +51% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 49 km |
| Árdscoil na Trionóide | 894 | +4% | Catholic | English | 49 km | |
| Colaiste Lorcain | 334 | −18% | Inter-denominational | English | 53 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 ↗near Celbridge, W23 W0XK
Post-primary schools near Salesian College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Salesian College
Is Salesian 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 Salesian College have?
880 pupils in 2025/26. That is +25% since 2019/20.
Does Salesian College teach through Irish?
No: Salesian College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Salesian College?
Salesian College has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Salesian Fathers of Don Bosco.
How do pupils get a place at Salesian 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 Salesian College?
The nearest are Celbridge Community School (0.2 km), St Wolstan's Community School (2.8 km) and Coláiste Chiaráin (3.5 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).