Holy Family Senior School
Aughnaharna, Portlaoise, Co. Laois · R32 N8C2 · Roll number 20480F
Holy Family Senior 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 Senior School
- One of the larger primary schools: 644 pupils, against a typical 131.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−13%).
- 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 Senior School had 644 pupils in 2025/26, down from 659 in 2016/17 (−2%). Girls are 50% of them. Its largest roll was 752, in 2018/19. Its roll rose in 3 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 Senior 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 Senior 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 Senior 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 Senior School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Holy Family Senior 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 Senior School has shrunk by 13% 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, 1 have more pupils than Holy Family Senior School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −13%; 6 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | ||
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | 0.1 km | |
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 0.5 km | |
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | 0.6 km | |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 0.6 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 | 4.7 km | |
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.7 km |
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | 8.9 km | |
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 8.9 km | |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 9 km | |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 9.1 km | |
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | 9.3 km | |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.6 km |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.8 km |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.8 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 | 13 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 |
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 14 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | 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 Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | 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 N8C2
Primary schools near Holy Family Senior 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 Senior School
Is Holy Family Senior 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 Senior School have?
644 pupils in 2025/26. That is −13% since 2019/20.
Does Holy Family Senior School teach through Irish?
No: Holy Family Senior School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Holy Family Senior School?
Holy Family Senior School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin.
How do pupils get a place at Holy Family Senior 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 Senior School?
The nearest are Holy Family Junior School (0.1 km), Portlaoise Educate Together NS (0.5 km) and Gaelscoil Phort Laoise (0.6 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).