Castletown N.S.
Elderfield Building, Castletown, Co. Laois · R32 VX78 · Roll number 20169F
Castletown N.S. is one of 4 primary schools in or within 3 km of Castletown. Every school in and around Castletown →
What stands out about Castletown N.S.
- 111 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−8%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Has special classes for children who need more support.
- The largest of the 4 primary schools around Castletown.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Ossory; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Castletown N.S. had 111 pupils in 2025/26, down from 152 in 2015/16 (−27%). Girls are 56% of them. 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 Castletown N.S.
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 Castletown N.S. 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 Castletown N.S.
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 Castletown N.S.
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Castletown N.S. 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: Castletown N.S. has shrunk by 8% since 2019/20. All the schools around Castletown together changed by +7%.
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.
Castletown N.S. has more pupils than any of the 6 nearest primary schools. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −8%; 5 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castletown N.S. | 111 | −8% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Fintans N.S. | 108 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 2.6 km |
| Scoil Bhride | 95 | +14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 2.8 km |
| Cluain Eidhneach N.S. | 89 | +22% | Church of Ireland | English | 3.2 km | |
| Trummera N.S. | 34 | −6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 4.3 km | |
| Rushall N.S. | 30 | −27% | Catholic | English | 4.8 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 5.2 km |
The other 56 primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | 6.9 km | |
| Camross N.S. | 156 | +24% | Catholic | English | 7.4 km | |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 8.2 km | |
| Cill an Iubhair N.S. | 23 | −30% | Catholic | English | 8.9 km | |
| Cloch an Tsionnaigh N.S. | 64 | −22% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| St Josephs National School | 95 | −10% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Naomh Pius X N.S. | 49 | +58% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 269 | −14% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Gaelscoil an Tsli Dala | 49 | +7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 14 km | |
| Scoil Bhride N.S. | 727 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Kiladooley Mixed N.S. | 132 | +25% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Scoil Bhride | 244 | +21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | 15 km | |
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 15 km | |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 15 km | |
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo | 192 | +7% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S. | 98 | +7% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Scoil Tíghearnach Naofa | 108 | +9% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 71 | +0% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Raithin an Uisce N.S. | 211 | −4% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| St Pauls N.S. | 41 | +32% | Church of Ireland | English | 19 km | |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Fraoch Mor N.S. | 212 | −10% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Naofa Castlecuffe | 53 | −38% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | 24 km | |
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 24 km | |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa | 29 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 9 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 28 km |
| Scoil Náisiúnta Cúil an tSúdaire 2 | 84 | −16% | Church of Ireland | English | 28 km | |
| Presentation Primary School | 496 | −30% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Scoil Padraig | 218 | −16% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | 22 | −42% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Ardlios N.S. | 50 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 33 km |
| Shanganamore N.S. | 106 | −8% | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| Scoil Abbain Cillin | 99 | +5% | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| Bhride N.S. | 13 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 36 km |
| Scoil Chomhgain Naofa | 380 | −5% | Catholic | English | 36 km |
Living in Castletown
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R32 Eircode area
Housing in Castletown →The median sale price rose from €250,000 in 2023 to €320,000 in 2025 (+28%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the R32 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Laois
Cost of living in Castletown →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 ↗Castletown, R32 VX78
Primary schools near Castletown N.S.
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Castletown N.S.
Is Castletown N.S. 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 Castletown N.S. have?
111 pupils in 2025/26. That is −8% since 2019/20.
Does Castletown N.S. teach through Irish?
No: Castletown N.S. teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Castletown N.S.?
Castletown N.S. has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Ossory.
How do pupils get a place at Castletown N.S.?
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 Castletown N.S.?
The nearest are St Fintans N.S. (2.6 km), Scoil Bhride (2.8 km) and Cluain Eidhneach N.S. (3.2 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 Castletown; 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).