Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College SJ, Clane, Co Kildare, Ireland · W91 DN40 · Roll number 61720F
Clongowes Wood College is one of 3 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Clane. Every school in and around Clane →
What stands out about Clongowes Wood College
- 421 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−6%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- A boys’ school.
- Charges fees.
- A boarding school.
- The smallest of the 3 post-primary schools around Clane.
- 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 Society of Jesus (Jesuits); its ethos is Catholic.
- Outside Clane’s outline, 1 km away; listed with Clane, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Clongowes Wood College had 421 pupils in 2025/26, down from 433 in 2015/16 (−3%). Its largest roll was 446, in 2019/20. Its roll rose in 5 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Clongowes Wood 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 Clongowes Wood 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 Clongowes Wood 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 Clongowes Wood College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Clongowes Wood 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 charges fees, set by the school. It takes boys only. It takes boarders as well as day pupils.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Clongowes Wood College has shrunk by 6% since 2019/20. All the schools around Clane together changed by +3%.
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, 5 have more pupils than Clongowes Wood College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −6%; 5 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clongowes Wood College | 421 | −6% | Catholic | English | ||
| Scoil Mhuire Community School | 1,189 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 2.2 km | |
| St Farnan's Post Primary School | 676 | +50% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 5.2 km |
| St Wolstan's Community School | 846 | +17% | Inter-denominational | English | 8.6 km | |
| Naas Community College | 928 | +95% | Multi-denominational | English | 8.8 km | |
| Gaelcholáiste Mhaigh Nuad | 154 | – | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 9.9 km | |
| Maynooth Post Primary School | 1,018 | +5% | Multi-denominational | English | 10 km |
The other 22 post-primary schools in Co. Kildare
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Naomh Mhuire | 1,076 | +3% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Salesian College | 880 | +25% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Scoil Dara | 828 | −10% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Celbridge Community School | 712 | +32% | Multi-denominational | English | 10 km | |
| Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara | 401 | +8% | Catholic | All in Irish | 11 km | |
| Meánscoil Iognáid Ris | 1,013 | +0% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Maynooth Community College | 1,013 | +66% | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| Piper's Hill College | 1,049 | +12% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Coláiste Chiaráin | 676 | +10% | Inter-denominational | English | 14 km | |
| Confey Community College | 934 | +22% | Inter-denominational | English | 14 km | |
| Newbridge College | 923 | +4% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Patrician Secondary School | 932 | +5% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Holy Family Secondary School | 789 | +11% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| St Conleth's Community College | 752 | +37% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Cross And Passion College | 843 | +1% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Curragh Community College | 288 | +112% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Kildare Town Community School | 1,014 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 22 km | |
| Ardscoil Rath Iomgháin | 751 | +8% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| St Pauls Secondary School | 843 | +68% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 31 km |
| Athy Community College | 646 | +51% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| Árdscoil na Trionóide | 894 | +4% | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| Colaiste Lorcain | 334 | −18% | Inter-denominational | English | 46 km |
Living in Clane
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the W91 Eircode area
Housing in Clane →The median sale price rose from €410,000 in 2023 to €435,000 in 2025 (+6%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the W91 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Clane
Cost of living in Clane →New tenancies in Clane averaged €1,661 a month in 2025, against €1,588 in 2024 (+5%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗near Clane, W91 DN40
Post-primary schools near Clongowes Wood College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Clongowes Wood College
Is Clongowes Wood 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 Clongowes Wood College have?
421 pupils in 2025/26. That is −6% since 2019/20.
Does Clongowes Wood College teach through Irish?
No: Clongowes Wood College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Clongowes Wood College?
Clongowes Wood College has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
How do pupils get a place at Clongowes Wood 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 Clongowes Wood College?
The nearest are Scoil Mhuire Community School (2.2 km), St Farnan's Post Primary School (5.2 km) and St Wolstan's Community School (8.6 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 Clane; 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).