Scoil Padraig
Ballylinan, Co. Laois · R14 HK31 · Roll number 17064U
Scoil Padraig is one of 3 primary schools in or within 3 km of Ballylinan. Every school in and around Ballylinan →
What stands out about Scoil Padraig
- 218 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Smaller than it was: 218 pupils, 16% fewer than the 261 of 2019/20.
- Has special classes for children who need more support.
- The largest of the 3 primary schools around Ballylinan.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Scoil Padraig had 218 pupils in 2025/26, down from 273 in 2015/16 (−20%). Girls are 50% of them. Its largest roll was 285, in 2016/17. Its roll rose in 2 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Scoil Padraig
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 Scoil Padraig 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 Scoil Padraig
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 Scoil Padraig
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Scoil Padraig 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: Scoil Padraig has shrunk by 16% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballylinan together changed by −11%.
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.
Of the 6 nearest primary schools, 1 have more pupils than Scoil Padraig. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −16%; 4 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Padraig | 218 | −16% | Catholic | English | ||
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 3.2 km | |
| Shanganamore N.S. | 106 | −8% | Catholic | English | 3.6 km | |
| Ardlios N.S. | 50 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 6.4 km |
| Scoil Mhichil Naofa | 496 | −20% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 6.8 km |
| Scoil Abbain Cillin | 99 | +5% | Catholic | English | 6.9 km | |
| Churchtown N.S. | 55 | −38% | Catholic | English | 7 km |
The other 58 primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire | 9 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 7.7 km |
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | 9.9 km | |
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 9.9 km | |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa | 29 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 10 km |
| Scoil Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 10 km |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Scoil Chomhgain Naofa | 380 | −5% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | 22 | −42% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Raithin an Uisce N.S. | 211 | −4% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Bhride N.S. | 13 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Fraoch Mor N.S. | 212 | −10% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 18 km | |
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | 18 km | |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 18 km | |
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S. | 98 | +7% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 269 | −14% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Bhride N.S. | 727 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 21 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Presentation Primary School | 496 | −30% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Scoil Náisiúnta Cúil an tSúdaire 2 | 84 | −16% | Church of Ireland | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Trummera N.S. | 34 | −6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 26 km | |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo | 192 | +7% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| St Pauls N.S. | 41 | +32% | Church of Ireland | English | 26 km | |
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Naomh Pius X N.S. | 49 | +58% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Cluain Eidhneach N.S. | 89 | +22% | Church of Ireland | English | 29 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 95 | +14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| St Fintans N.S. | 108 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Castletown N.S. | 111 | −8% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Cloch an Tsionnaigh N.S. | 64 | −22% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Scoil Tíghearnach Naofa | 108 | +9% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Rushall N.S. | 30 | −27% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Cill an Iubhair N.S. | 23 | −30% | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| Camross N.S. | 156 | +24% | Catholic | English | 37 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 244 | +21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 38 km |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 39 km |
| St Josephs National School | 95 | −10% | Catholic | English | 39 km | |
| Kiladooley Mixed N.S. | 132 | +25% | Catholic | English | 41 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Naofa Castlecuffe | 53 | −38% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 71 | +0% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| Gaelscoil an Tsli Dala | 49 | +7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 43 km |
Living in Ballylinan
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R14 Eircode area
Housing in Ballylinan →The median sale price rose from €229,000 in 2023 to €345,000 in 2025 (+51%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the R14 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Laois
Cost of living in Ballylinan →New tenancies in Co. Laois averaged €1,235 a month in 2025, against €1,112 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballylinan, R14 HK31
Primary schools near Scoil Padraig
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Scoil Padraig
Is Scoil Padraig 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 Scoil Padraig have?
218 pupils in 2025/26. That is −16% since 2019/20.
Does Scoil Padraig teach through Irish?
No: Scoil Padraig teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Scoil Padraig?
Scoil Padraig has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin.
How do pupils get a place at Scoil Padraig?
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 Scoil Padraig?
The nearest are Ballyadams N.S. (3.2 km), Shanganamore N.S. (3.6 km) and Ardlios N.S. (6.4 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 Ballylinan; 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).