Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0More of the schools around Newtown are in DEIS than around Co. Laois’ towns or Irish towns: 75%
That puts Newtown above both Co. Laois’ towns (15%) and Irish towns (35%). 3 of its 4 schools are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas, against 30% across Ireland. 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 Newtown’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: Scoil Naomh Abban (73), St Patricks N.S. (57) and Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa (29). Who runs them ↓
One school growing fast
Of the schools here, Scoil Naomh Abban has grown fastest, from 53 in 2019/20 to 73. Getting a place ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Where the 4 schools in and around Newtown 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 Newtown’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.
Who runs Newtown’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
4 of Newtown’s 4 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (3) and Bishop of Ossory (1). 3 of the 4 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.
Teaching through Irish in and around Newtown
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
None of the 4 schools in and around Newtown teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Newtown’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Laois’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
| Share of pupils | Around Newtown | Co. Laois | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 88% | 22% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 2% | 6% |
| Girls | 44% | 49% | 49% |
More of the pupils around Newtown are at DEIS schools than across Ireland: 88% against 27% (Co. Laois: 22%). Where this area differs most from Ireland is pupils at all-Irish schools, at 0% against 6%. Scoil Naomh Abban, with 73 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 4 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Naomh AbbanPrimary | 73 | 44% | ✓ | |
| St Patricks N.S.Primary | 57 | 39% | ✓ | |
| Scoil Mhuire MuigheoPrimary | 22 | 50% | ||
| Scoil an Chroi Ro NaofaPrimary | 29 | 48% | ✓ |
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 2 patrons of Newtown’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
2 patrons run the 4 schools around Newtown; the largest, Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin, has 3 of them and 69% of the pupils.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinScoil Naomh Abban, Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa, Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | Catholic | 3 | 124 |
| Bishop of OssorySt Patricks | Catholic | 1 | 57 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Newtown
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
Of these 4 schools, 1 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 3 have lost as much; Ireland’s 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.
The 4 schools in and around Newtown
Every school in Newtown or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. These schools carry no letter or result: Ireland doesn’t release them school by school.
Inspection reports for Newtown’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
The Inspectorate inspects schools in several ways: a whole-school evaluation covers teaching, learning and how the school is led; a subject inspection looks at one subject; a follow-through checks on earlier advice. Reports go on gov.ie with the school’s reply.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 4 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Scoil Naomh AbbanPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Patricks N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Mhuire MuigheoPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro NaofaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Newtown
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
The only post-primary school within 10 km of Newtown is Community School, a community school. It takes girls and boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 634 | 9.5 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Newtown
No special school is in or near Newtown. 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.
Newtown beside the 224 other Irish towns of 200 to 400 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crossbarry | 399 | 2 | 184 | 0 | 0% | 8.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Butlersbridge | 271 | 1 | 261 | 0 | 0% | 3.6 km |
| Kinnitty | 270 | 1 | 132 | 0 | 0% | 9 km |
| Killinierin | 270 | 1 | 218 | 0 | 0% | 5.4 km |
| Kernanstown | 269 | 5 | 2,556 | 2 | 20% | 2.6 km |
| Newtown | 269 | 4 | 181 | 0 | 75% | 9.5 km |
| Galbally | 269 | 1 | 135 | 0 | 0% | 12 km |
| Drumsna | 268 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5.7 km |
| Gob an Choire | 265 | 3 | 317 | 1 | 100% | 2.1 km |
| Milford | 264 | 3 | 714 | 0 | 0% | 3.3 km |
| … | ||||||
| Lahardane | 200 | 1 | 76 | 0 | 0% | 7.1 km |
Of the other 224 towns, 80 have more pupils at the schools around them than Newtown. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 17 of the 225.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Newtown
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Newtown had 210 pupils in 2015/16 and 181 in 2025/26, fewer than before. Scoil Naomh Abban grew most: +38% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Newtown
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 Newtown
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newtown | 4 | 181 | 0 | 75% | 9.5 km |
| Castlecomer 9.6 km | 3 | 807 | 0 | 67% | 0.5 km |
| Ballylinan 10 km | 3 | 435 | 0 | 0% | 7.2 km |
| Carlow 13 km | 19 | 7,832 | 2 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Abbeyleix 16 km | 2 | 353 | 0 | 0% | 4.5 km |
| Athy 16 km | 7 | 2,975 | 1 | 57% | 0.8 km |
| Ballyragget 17 km | 1 | 163 | 0 | 0% | 8 km |
Carlow has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Newtown changed by −9%; among its neighbours, Ballyragget’s grew most (+20%) and Abbeyleix’s least (−16%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Newtown 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 Newtown
How many schools are there in Newtown?
In Newtown or within 3 km of it: 4 primary schools, with 181 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Newtown that teach through Irish?
None in Newtown or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Is there a secondary school in Newtown?
Not in Newtown or within 3 km of it; the nearest is Community School, 9.5 km away.
What is the best school in Newtown?
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 Newtown?
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).