Holy Family Junior School
Aughnaharna, Summerhill, Portlaoise · R32 CY05 · Roll number 20270R
Holy Family Junior School is one of 7 primary schools in or within 3 km of Portlaoise. Every school in and around Portlaoise →
What stands out about Holy Family Junior School
- One of the larger primary schools: 599 pupils, against a typical 131.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−9%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Has special classes for children who need more support.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2016/17 to 2025/26Holy Family Junior School had 599 pupils in 2025/26, down from 684 in 2016/17 (−12%). Girls are 51% of them. Its roll rose in 0 of the 9 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Holy Family Junior 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 Holy Family Junior 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 Holy Family Junior 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 Holy Family Junior School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Holy Family Junior School 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: Holy Family Junior School has shrunk by 9% 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 primary schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Of the 6 nearest primary schools, 2 have more pupils than Holy Family Junior School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −9%; 4 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | ||
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | 0.1 km | |
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 0.5 km | |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 0.5 km | |
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | 0.5 km | |
| Scoil Bhride N.S. | 727 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 2.7 km |
| Fraoch Mor N.S. | 212 | −10% | Catholic | English | 4.6 km |
The other 56 primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raithin an Uisce N.S. | 211 | −4% | Catholic | English | 4.8 km | |
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.6 km |
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | 9 km | |
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 9 km | |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 9.1 km | |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 9.1 km | |
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | 9.2 km | |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 9.5 km | |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.6 km |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.7 km |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.7 km |
| St Pauls N.S. | 41 | +32% | Church of Ireland | English | 10 km | |
| Trummera N.S. | 34 | −6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 12 km | |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 269 | −14% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Cluain Eidhneach N.S. | 89 | +22% | Church of Ireland | English | 13 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 95 | +14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| St Fintans N.S. | 108 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 14 km | |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Presentation Primary School | 496 | −30% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Náisiúnta Cúil an tSúdaire 2 | 84 | −16% | Church of Ireland | English | 15 km | |
| Castletown N.S. | 111 | −8% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S. | 98 | +7% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 9 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Scoil Padraig | 218 | −16% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa | 29 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| Cill an Iubhair N.S. | 23 | −30% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Naomh Pius X N.S. | 49 | +58% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Rushall N.S. | 30 | −27% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Shanganamore N.S. | 106 | −8% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Camross N.S. | 156 | +24% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Scoil Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo | 192 | +7% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Cloch an Tsionnaigh N.S. | 64 | −22% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Ardlios N.S. | 50 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | 22 | −42% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Scoil Abbain Cillin | 99 | +5% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Naofa Castlecuffe | 53 | −38% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| St Josephs National School | 95 | −10% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Scoil Tíghearnach Naofa | 108 | +9% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Scoil Chomhgain Naofa | 380 | −5% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 244 | +21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| Gaelscoil an Tsli Dala | 49 | +7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 29 km | |
| Kiladooley Mixed N.S. | 132 | +25% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Bhride N.S. | 13 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 71 | +0% | Catholic | English | 33 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 CY05
Primary schools near Holy Family Junior School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Holy Family Junior School
Is Holy Family Junior 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 Holy Family Junior School have?
599 pupils in 2025/26. That is −9% since 2019/20.
Does Holy Family Junior School teach through Irish?
No: Holy Family Junior School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Holy Family Junior School?
Holy Family Junior School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin.
How do pupils get a place at Holy Family Junior 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 Holy Family Junior School?
The nearest are Holy Family Senior School (0.1 km), Portlaoise Educate Together NS (0.5 km) and Maryboro N.S. (0.5 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).