St Francis S S
Borris Road, Portlaoise, Co Laois · R32 DN24 · Roll number 19337Q
St Francis S S is one of 2 special schools in or within 3 km of Portlaoise. Every school in and around Portlaoise →
What stands out about St Francis S S
- One of the larger special schools: 121 pupils, against a typical 58.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 121 pupils, 46% more than the 83 of 2019/20.
- 39 girls and 82 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Francis S S had 121 pupils in 2025/26, against 94 in 2015/16 (+29%). Girls are 32% of them. Its roll rose in 6 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St Francis S 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 St Francis S 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 St Francis S 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 St Francis S S
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Francis S S follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
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: St Francis S S has grown by 46% since 2019/20. All the schools around Portlaoise together changed by +10%.
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 special schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
St Francis S S has more pupils than any of the 1 nearest special schools. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +46%; 0 of the 1 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Francis S S | 121 | +46% | Catholic | English | ||
| The Kolbe Special School | 49 | +26% | Catholic | English | 1.3 km |
Living in Portlaoise
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R32 Eircode area
Housing in Portlaoise →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 Portlaoise
Cost of living in Portlaoise →New tenancies in Portlaoise averaged €1,268 a month in 2025, against €1,141 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Portlaoise, R32 DN24
Special schools near St Francis S S
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Francis S S
Is St Francis S 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 St Francis S S have?
121 pupils in 2025/26. That is +46% since 2019/20.
Does St Francis S S teach through Irish?
No: St Francis S S teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Francis S S?
St Francis S S has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin.
How do pupils get a place at St Francis S 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 St Francis S S?
The nearest are The Kolbe Special School (1.3 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 Portlaoise; 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).