Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0Most post-primaries around Mountmellick take girls and boys: 0% are single-sex, below Irish towns
Measured that way, Mountmellick is below Irish towns (39%). Its one secondary school within 3 km, Mountmellick Community School, has 742 pupils. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not 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 Mountmellick’s schools
Extra support for many schools
Many schools here are in DEIS, which gives schools in disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and help; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. In DEIS: Mountmellick Community School (742), St Josephs Girls N.S. (230), Na Carraige N.S. (204) and Mountmellick Boys N.S. (188). Who runs them ↓
One school growing fast
Mountmellick Community School has grown from 534 pupils in 2019/20 to 742, the fastest of the schools here. Getting a place ↓
A wide choice at twelve
6 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Mountmellick Community School (0.3 km), St. Mary's C.B.S. (8 km) and Scoil Chriost Ri (8.1 km). Post-primary choices ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Who runs Mountmellick’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
3 of Mountmellick’s 5 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (3), Laois & Offaly ETB & Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin (1) and Bishop of Meath & Kildare COI (1). 4 of the 5 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 schools in and around Mountmellick
Here are the schools in Mountmellick or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. Results by school aren’t published in Ireland, so the cards carry none.
Where the 5 schools in and around Mountmellick 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 Mountmellick’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 Mountmellick
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
None of the 5 schools in and around Mountmellick teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Mountmellick’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside Co. Laois’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 Mountmellick | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 97% | 22% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 2% | 6% |
| Girls | 51% | 49% | 49% |
DEIS schools teach 97% of the pupils around Mountmellick, a larger share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Laois: 22%). Set beside Ireland, pupils at all-Irish schools stand out most: 0% against 6%. The largest DEIS school here is Mountmellick Community School, with 742 pupils.
Each of the 5 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountmellick Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | 742 | 50% | ✓ | |
| St Josephs Girls N.S.Primary | 230 | 100% | ✓ | |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S.Primary | 188 | 0% | ✓ | |
| St Pauls N.S.Primary | 41 | 44% | ||
| Na Carraige N.S.Primary | 204 | 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.
The 3 patrons of Mountmellick’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
Of the 5 schools around Mountmellick, 3 have Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin as patron, teaching 44% of the pupils; 3 patrons in all. One is an ETB school.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinSt Josephs Girls, Na Carraige, Mountmellick Boys | Catholic | 3 | 622 |
| Laois & Offaly ETB & Bishop of Kildare and LeighlinMountmellick | Inter-denominational | 1 | 742 |
| Bishop of Meath & Kildare COISt Pauls | Church of Ireland | 1 | 41 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Mountmellick
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.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
2 schools here have grown by 5% or more since 2019/20, 1 have shrunk by as much, out of 5; across Ireland: +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 Mountmellick’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and 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 5 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Mountmellick Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Josephs Girls N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Pauls N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Na Carraige N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Mountmellick
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Families in Mountmellick have 6 post-primary schools within 10 km: 3 voluntary secondary schools, 2 ETB schools and one community school. Of these, 2 are single-sex: 1 for girls and 1 for boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountmellick Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 742 | 0.3 km |
| St. Mary's C.B.S.Voluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 853 | 8 km |
| Scoil Chriost RiVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 880 | 8.1 km |
| Portlaoise CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 1,005 | 9.1 km |
| Dunamase College (Coláiste Dhún Másc)ETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Irish stream | 506 | 9.3 km |
| Coláiste ÍosagáinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 1,182 | 9.3 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Mountmellick
No special school is in or near Mountmellick. 1 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.
Mountmellick beside the 100 other Irish towns of 3,400 to 6,600 people
Towns of a similar size, with the schools in or within 3 km of each; ordered by population, never ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinasloe | 6,597 | 6 | 2,019 | 1 | 50% | 1.8 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clonakilty | 5,112 | 6 | 2,124 | 1 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| Glounthaune | 5,000 | 32 | 10,210 | 4 | 19% | 3.7 km |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 33 | 11,452 | 5 | 33% | 0.2 km |
| Fair Hill | 4,910 | 58 | 17,368 | 5 | 55% | 0.4 km |
| Mountmellick | 4,905 | 5 | 1,405 | 0 | 80% | 0.3 km |
| Duleek | 4,899 | 4 | 957 | 0 | 50% | 6.8 km |
| Poleberry | 4,875 | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.4 km |
| Chapelizod | 4,862 | 154 | 44,846 | 5 | 58% | 0.7 km |
| Cashel | 4,805 | 6 | 1,837 | 0 | 33% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clara | 3,403 | 3 | 699 | 0 | 100% | 0.3 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 90 of the other 100 towns than around Mountmellick. Teaching through Irish is on offer within 3 km in 78 of the 101.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Mountmellick
Each September’s pupils at every school in or within 3 km of the town, counted where the school stands today.
The schools in and around Mountmellick had 1,164 pupils in 2015/16 and 1,405 in 2025/26. Mountmellick Community School grew most: +39% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Mountmellick
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 Mountmellick
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountmellick | 5 | 1,405 | 0 | 80% | 0.3 km |
| Portlaoise 8.8 km | 13 | 6,518 | 1 | 15% | 0.6 km |
| Portarlington 10 km | 5 | 2,657 | 0 | 0% | 1.3 km |
| Mountrath 16 km | 7 | 1,306 | 1 | 29% | 0.8 km |
| Stradbally 17 km | 2 | 375 | 0 | 0% | 10 km |
| Monasterevin 18 km | 5 | 1,605 | 0 | 20% | 0.7 km |
Portlaoise has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 1. The roll around Mountmellick moved +12% since 2019/20; nearby, Monasterevin grew most (+24%) and Portarlington least (−3%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Mountmellick 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 Mountmellick
How many schools are there in Mountmellick?
In Mountmellick or within 3 km of it: 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school, with 1,405 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Mountmellick that teach through Irish?
None in Mountmellick 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 Mountmellick?
No: the secondary school here is free.
What is the best school in Mountmellick?
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 Mountmellick?
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).