Photo: James Allan · CC BY-SA 2.0Around Clane, only 0% of schools teach through Irish, fewer than around Co. Kildare’s towns or Irish towns
For Clane, that is below both Co. Kildare’s towns (6%) and Irish towns (8%). Primary schools here average 388 pupils, against 175 across Ireland. Ireland publishes no school results, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them, so these schools are described here, never graded or ranked.
Counted from the Department of Education’s 2025/26 lists: every school in the town or within 3 km of it, against every school in Ireland.
What stands out about Clane’s schools
One fee-paying secondary school
One secondary school within reach charges fees; the others are free. The fee-paying one: Clongowes Wood College (421). Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
8 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Scoil Mhuire Community School (0.7 km), Clongowes Wood College (1.8 km) and St Farnan's Post Primary School (4.3 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Few schools in DEIS
Only 1 of the 7 schools here are in DEIS, the programme of extra teachers and money for schools serving disadvantaged areas; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. The one in DEIS: St Farnan's Post Primary School (676). Who goes there ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
The 7 schools in and around Clane
Here are the schools in Clane or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
Where the 7 schools in and around Clane 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 Clane’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 Clane
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
None of the 7 schools in and around Clane teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Clane’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, 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 Clane | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 18% | 17% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 44% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 18% | 26% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 18% | 6% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 18% of the pupils around Clane, a smaller share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Kildare: 17%). Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools, at 18% against 6%. St Farnan's Post Primary School, with 676 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 7 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | 1,189 | 50% | ||
| St Patricks BNSPrimary | 488 | 0% | ||
| Scoil Naisiunta BhridePrimary | 480 | 100% | ||
| Hewetsons N.S.Primary | 89 | 46% | ||
| Clongowes Wood CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 421 | 0% | ||
| Prosperous N.S.Primary | 493 | 50% | ||
| St Farnan's Post Primary SchoolPost-primary · ETB | 676 | 47% | ✓ |
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 Clane’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
4 of Clane’s 7 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (3), Kildare Wicklow ETB & Presentation Sisters (1) and Bishop of Meath & Kildare COI (1). 1 of the 7 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 5 patrons of Clane’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin is patron of 3 of the 7 schools around Clane, which teach 38% of their pupils; 5 patrons run them in all. 2 are ETB schools.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinProsperous, St Patricks BNS, Scoil Naisiunta Bhride | Catholic | 3 | 1,461 |
| Kildare Wicklow ETB & Presentation SistersScoil Mhuire | Inter-denominational | 1 | 1,189 |
| Kildare & Wicklow ETBSt Farnan's Post Primary School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 676 |
| Society of Jesus (Jesuits)Clongowes Wood College | Catholic | 1 | 421 |
| Bishop of Meath & Kildare COIHewetsons | Church of Ireland | 1 | 89 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Clane
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. The fee-paying school here sets its own fees and admissions.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Since 2019/20, 1 of these 7 schools have grown by 5% or more and 4 have shrunk as much; across Ireland the number of pupils changed by +5%.
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.
Inspection reports for Clane’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
Reports come from whole-school evaluations (teaching, learning, leadership and management), subject inspections and follow-through visits that check earlier advice; gov.ie publishes each one with the school’s response.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 7 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Patricks BNSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Naisiunta BhridePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Hewetsons N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Clongowes Wood CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Prosperous N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Farnan's Post Primary SchoolPost-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 Clane
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Families in Clane have 8 post-primary schools within 10 km: 4 voluntary secondary schools, 2 community schools and 2 ETB schools. 4 teach girls and boys apart: 2 girls’ and 2 boys’ schools. One of them charges fees. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,189 | 0.7 km |
| Clongowes Wood CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 421 | 1.8 km |
| St Farnan's Post Primary SchoolETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 676 | 4.3 km |
| Naas Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 928 | 7 km |
| Coláiste Naomh MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 1,076 | 8.4 km |
| Gaelcholáiste Chill DaraVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 401 | 8.9 km |
| Meánscoil Iognáid RisVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 1,013 | 8.9 km |
| St Wolstan's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls | – | 846 | 9.4 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Clane
No special school is in or near Clane. 3 of the 4 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.
Clane beside the 93 other Irish towns of 5,700 to 11,000 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longford | 10,952 | 12 | 3,607 | 1 | 83% | 0.2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Bandon | 8,196 | 10 | 3,617 | 1 | 10% | 0.4 km |
| Howth | 8,192 | 27 | 8,571 | 3 | 11% | 0.8 km |
| Ballybough | 8,188 | 126 | 34,469 | 8 | 52% | 0.2 km |
| Thurles | 8,185 | 10 | 3,787 | 1 | 10% | 0.3 km |
| Clane | 8,152 | 7 | 3,836 | 0 | 14% | 0.7 km |
| Dubber | 7,941 | 54 | 15,781 | 5 | 67% | 1.8 km |
| Monaghan | 7,894 | 11 | 3,968 | 2 | 36% | 0.2 km |
| Edenderry | 7,888 | 7 | 2,986 | 1 | 57% | 0.3 km |
| Farranshone | 7,874 | 49 | 16,369 | 6 | 47% | 0.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Portobello | 5,732 | 110 | 29,104 | 7 | 46% | 0.4 km |
Of these 93 other towns, 64 count more pupils at their schools than Clane. 89 of the 94 towns have an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Clane
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Clane had 3,640 pupils in 2015/16 and 3,836 in 2025/26. St Farnan's Post Primary School grew most: +50% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Clane
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 Clane
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
Sallins has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 1. Pupils around Clane: +3% since 2019/20. Among the neighbours, Carragh led (+43%) and Straffan trailed (+3%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Clane 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 Clane
How many schools are there in Clane?
In Clane or within 3 km of it: 4 primary schools and 3 secondary schools, with 3,836 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Clane that teach through Irish?
None in Clane or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Clane?
1 of the 3: Clongowes Wood College. The others are free.
What is the best school in Clane?
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 Clane?
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).