The Kolbe Special School
Block Road, Portlaoise, Co. Laois · R32 XD63 · Roll number 20100P
The Kolbe Special School is one of 2 special schools in or within 3 km of Portlaoise. Every school in and around Portlaoise →
What stands out about The Kolbe Special School
- 49 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 49 pupils, 26% more than the 39 of 2019/20.
- 14 girls and 35 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, Moore Abbey; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26The Kolbe Special School had 49 pupils in 2025/26, against 31 in 2015/16 (+58%). Girls are 29% 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 The Kolbe Special School
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 The Kolbe Special School 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 The Kolbe Special School
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 The Kolbe Special School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at The Kolbe Special School 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: The Kolbe Special School has grown by 26% 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.
Each of the 1 nearest special schools has more pupils than The Kolbe Special School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +26%; 1 of the 1 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Kolbe Special School | 49 | +26% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Francis S S | 121 | +46% | 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 XD63
Special schools near The Kolbe Special School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about The Kolbe Special School
Is The Kolbe Special School 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 The Kolbe Special School have?
49 pupils in 2025/26. That is +26% since 2019/20.
Does The Kolbe Special School teach through Irish?
No: The Kolbe Special School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs The Kolbe Special School?
The Kolbe Special School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, Moore Abbey.
How do pupils get a place at The Kolbe Special School?
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 The Kolbe Special School?
The nearest are St Francis S S (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).