Cosby N.S.
Main Street, Stradbally, Co. Laois · R32 VP9F · Roll number 10544W
Cosby N.S. is one of 2 primary schools in or within 3 km of Stradbally. Every school in and around Stradbally →
What stands out about Cosby N.S.
- A small primary school: 57 pupils, against a typical 131.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 57 pupils, 90% more than the 30 of 2019/20.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe & Ardfert COI; its ethos is Church of Ireland.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Cosby N.S. had 57 pupils in 2025/26, against 39 in 2015/16 (+46%). Girls are 46% of them. Its roll rose in 4 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Cosby N.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 Cosby N.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 Cosby N.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 Cosby N.S.
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Cosby N.S. 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Cosby N.S. has grown by 90% since 2019/20. All the schools around Stradbally together changed by +24%.
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, 5 have more pupils than Cosby N.S.. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +90%; 0 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | ||
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 0.1 km | |
| Raithin an Uisce N.S. | 211 | −4% | Catholic | English | 4.8 km | |
| Churchtown N.S. | 55 | −38% | Catholic | English | 6.3 km | |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 6.7 km | |
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| Fraoch Mor N.S. | 212 | −10% | Catholic | English | 7 km |
The other 57 primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | 8.9 km | |
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | 9 km | |
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 9.4 km | |
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | 9.5 km | |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 9.5 km | |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 9.7 km | |
| Scoil Padraig | 218 | −16% | Catholic | English | 9.9 km | |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Scoil Bhride N.S. | 727 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 12 km |
| Shanganamore N.S. | 106 | −8% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 9 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa | 29 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Presentation Primary School | 496 | −30% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Ardlios N.S. | 50 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Scoil Náisiúnta Cúil an tSúdaire 2 | 84 | −16% | Church of Ireland | English | 16 km | |
| St Pauls N.S. | 41 | +32% | Church of Ireland | English | 17 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Scoil Abbain Cillin | 99 | +5% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 269 | −14% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 18 km | |
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S. | 98 | +7% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | 22 | −42% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Trummera N.S. | 34 | −6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 19 km | |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Chomhgain Naofa | 380 | −5% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Cluain Eidhneach N.S. | 89 | +22% | Church of Ireland | English | 22 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 95 | +14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| St Fintans N.S. | 108 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| Castletown N.S. | 111 | −8% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Bhride N.S. | 13 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Naomh Pius X N.S. | 49 | +58% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo | 192 | +7% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Cill an Iubhair N.S. | 23 | −30% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Rushall N.S. | 30 | −27% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Cloch an Tsionnaigh N.S. | 64 | −22% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Camross N.S. | 156 | +24% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Scoil Tíghearnach Naofa | 108 | +9% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Naofa Castlecuffe | 53 | −38% | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| St Josephs National School | 95 | −10% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 244 | +21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 35 km |
| Kiladooley Mixed N.S. | 132 | +25% | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| Gaelscoil an Tsli Dala | 49 | +7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 37 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 71 | +0% | Catholic | English | 40 km |
Living in Stradbally
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R32 Eircode area
Housing in Stradbally →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 Co. Laois
Cost of living in Stradbally →New tenancies in Co. Laois averaged €1,235 a month in 2025, against €1,112 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Stradbally, R32 VP9F
Primary schools near Cosby N.S.
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Cosby N.S.
Is Cosby N.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 Cosby N.S. have?
57 pupils in 2025/26. That is +90% since 2019/20.
Does Cosby N.S. teach through Irish?
No: Cosby N.S. teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Cosby N.S.?
Cosby N.S. has a Church of Ireland ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe & Ardfert COI.
How do pupils get a place at Cosby N.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 Cosby N.S.?
The nearest are St Coleman's National School (0.1 km), Raithin an Uisce N.S. (4.8 km) and Churchtown N.S. (6.3 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 Stradbally; 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).