Bunscoil McAuley Rice
Kilkenny Road, Callan, Co. Kilkenny · R95 E840 · Roll number 20255V
Bunscoil McAuley Rice is the only one of the primary schools in or within 3 km of Callan. Every school in and around Callan →
What stands out about Bunscoil McAuley Rice
- One of the larger primary schools: 406 pupils, against a typical 131.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−9%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Has special classes for children who need more support.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Ossory; its ethos is Catholic.
- The only primary school in Callan or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Bunscoil McAuley Rice had 406 pupils in 2025/26, against 380 in 2015/16 (+7%). Girls are 51% of them. Its largest roll was 447, 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 Bunscoil McAuley Rice
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 Bunscoil McAuley Rice 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 Bunscoil McAuley Rice
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 Bunscoil McAuley Rice
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Bunscoil McAuley Rice directly. Children can start once they are four and must be in school by six; 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.
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: Bunscoil McAuley Rice has shrunk by 9% since 2019/20. All the schools around Callan together changed by +18%.
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 primary schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Bunscoil McAuley Rice has more pupils than any of the 6 nearest primary schools. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −9%; 1 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bunscoil McAuley Rice | 406 | −9% | Catholic | English | ||
| Poulacapple N.S. | 46 | −16% | Catholic | English | 6.3 km | |
| Burnchurch National School | 44 | −28% | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| Scoil San Lionard | 115 | −15% | Catholic | English | 7.7 km | |
| Church Hill Mixed N.S. | 192 | +14% | Catholic | English | 7.8 km | |
| S.N. Bhridhe | 27 | – | Catholic | English | 7.9 km | |
| St Aidans N.S. | 175 | −9% | Catholic | English | 8.3 km |
The other 62 primary schools in Co. Kilkenny
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S N San Nioclas | 120 | +3% | Catholic | English | 9.6 km | |
| Kilmoganny Mixed N.S. | 23 | +10% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| St Michaels National School | 63 | +34% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| S.N. Chiaran Naofa | 142 | +29% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Brendans Mixed N.S. | 50 | −17% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| S.N. Tulach Ruain | 91 | −7% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Kilkenny School Project | 236 | +1% | Multi-denominational | English | 14 km | |
| Gaelscoil Osrai | 438 | −5% | Catholic | All in Irish | 14 km | |
| S.N. Padraig Naofa | 331 | −15% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Eoin Dea | 330 | −2% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Scoil Iognaid de Ris | 278 | +37% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 400 | −10% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Bennettsbridge National School | 206 | +7% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| St Canices Central N.S. | 648 | −1% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| St. John's National School | 441 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| S.N. Naomh Padraig Mxd | 173 | −3% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Kilkenny Mixed N.S. | 198 | −4% | Church of Ireland | English | 16 km | |
| S.N. Moin Ruadh Mixed | 56 | +0% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| St Mary's National School | 398 | −12% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 17 km | |
| Owning National School | 100 | +0% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Templeorum N.S. | 38 | −32% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmain | 204 | −5% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Lachtain | 201 | +6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Scoil Naomh Ioseph | 127 | +37% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| S.N. Baile an Phiull | 254 | −23% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| S.N. Tobair Eoin Baisde | 45 | −34% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| S.N. Muire | 197 | −24% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| S.N. Cholmcille | 104 | −27% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Scoil an Chroí Ró-Naofa | 223 | −15% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| Clontubrid Mixed N.S. | 43 | −26% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| S.N. Colmain | 20 | – | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| St Beacons N.S. | 175 | −5% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Chrion Choill | 28 | −24% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Chiarain | 90 | +6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| S.N. Lisnafunchin | 32 | −32% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Scoil Mholainge Listerlin | 148 | +9% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Ballyragget National School | 163 | +20% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Lisdowney N.S. | 96 | +1% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Skeaghvastheen N.S. | 85 | −13% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| S.N. Bhreandain Naofa | 192 | −11% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Goresbridge N.S. | 68 | −23% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Scoil Bhride B7C | 217 | −15% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Scoil Mhichil Naofa | 14 | −56% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| S.N. Baile an Fhasaigh | 54 | −10% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 261 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 148 | −8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| St. Senan's National School | 176 | +2% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Graig na Manach Buac | 68 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| S.N. Mhichil Naofa | 62 | +3% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Colmcille Mixed N.S. | 20 | −29% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| The Rower Mixed N.S. | 115 | −33% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Scoil Íosagáin | 121 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 31 km |
| Wandesforde Mixed N.S. | 52 | −10% | Church of Ireland | English | 31 km | |
| S.N. Bhrighde | 46 | −12% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| S.N. Seamus Naofa | 91 | −13% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Carigeen N.S. | 123 | −23% | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Padraigh | 202 | +3% | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| Holycross N.S. | 72 | −23% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| S.N. an Moinin Rua | 127 | +2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 36 km |
| Slieverue Mixed N.S. | 208 | −8% | Catholic | English | 37 km | |
| Ringville National School | 35 | −31% | Catholic | English | 37 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. | 57 | −25% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 38 km |
Living in Callan
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R95 Eircode area
Housing in Callan →The median sale price rose from €289,400 in 2023 to €351,700 in 2025 (+22%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the R95 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Callan
Cost of living in Callan →New tenancies in Callan averaged €1,067 a month in 2025, against €966 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Callan, R95 E840
Primary schools near Bunscoil McAuley Rice
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Bunscoil McAuley Rice
Is Bunscoil McAuley Rice 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 Bunscoil McAuley Rice have?
406 pupils in 2025/26. That is −9% since 2019/20.
Does Bunscoil McAuley Rice teach through Irish?
No: Bunscoil McAuley Rice teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Bunscoil McAuley Rice?
Bunscoil McAuley Rice has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Ossory.
How do pupils get a place at Bunscoil McAuley Rice?
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 Bunscoil McAuley Rice?
The nearest are Poulacapple N.S. (6.3 km), Burnchurch National School (6.8 km) and Scoil San Lionard (7.7 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 Callan; 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).