More children at the schools around Beaulieu: +21% since 2019/20, above Co. Louth’s towns and Irish towns
Measured that way, Beaulieu is above both Co. Louth’s towns (+9%) and Irish towns (+4%). Pupils: 6,561, up 21% since 2019/20. These schools are described rather than graded, because Ireland publishes no school results and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Counted from the Department of Education’s 2025/26 lists: every school in the town or within 3 km of it, against every school in Ireland.
What stands out about Beaulieu’s schools
One fee-paying secondary school
One secondary school within reach charges fees; the others are free. The fee-paying one: Drogheda Grammar School (557). Every school ↓
More pupils every year
Pupil numbers at the schools here have grown faster than across Ireland (+5% since 2019/20), so classes and new places are a question worth asking. Pupils over time ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Families here can choose among 9 post-primary schools within 10 km of the town, of more than one kind; each admits on its own published policy, so applying to more than one is common. The nearest: Drogheda Grammar School (2 km), St. Joseph's C.B.S. (2.3 km) and Our Lady's College (2.4 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
The 12 schools in and around Beaulieu
Every school in Beaulieu or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Pupil numbers around Beaulieu
Each September’s pupils at every school in or within 3 km of the town, counted where the school stands today.
The schools in and around Beaulieu had 4,407 pupils in 2015/16 and 6,561 in 2025/26. Laytown & Drogheda Educate Together Secondary School grew most: +1,344% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Beaulieu
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year, 2015/16 to 2025/26 (preliminary), for every school placed in the area today; schools that have since closed or merged count where they stood.
Where the 12 schools in and around Beaulieu are
Each school where the official list places it, shaded by who runs it and sized by pupils; squares are secondary schools, triangles special schools. The dashed shape is Beaulieu’s outline; schools within 3 km of it count.
Places from the Department of Education’s school lists (its own coordinates for all but a handful); map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Teaching through Irish in and around Beaulieu
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
1 of Beaulieu’s 12 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa.
Who Beaulieu’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Louth’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Beaulieu | Co. Louth | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 11% | 36% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 6% | 1% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 50% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 23% | 27% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 13% | 8% | 6% |
11% of the pupils around Beaulieu are at a DEIS school, fewer than the 27% across Ireland (36% in Co. Louth). Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools, at 13% against 6%. Presentation Convent, with 385 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 12 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Village Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | 375 | 49% | ||
| Drogheda Grammar SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 557 | 40% | ||
| Le Cheile Educate Together NSPrimary | 383 | 51% | ||
| St. Joseph's C.B.S.Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,128 | 15% | ||
| Our Lady's CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 965 | 100% | ||
| Scoil Oilibhéir NaofaPrimary | 353 | 47% | ✓ | |
| Presentation ConventPrimary | 385 | 63% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil an Bhradáin FeasaPrimary | 383 | 53% | ✓ | |
| Ballymakenny CollegePost-primary · Community school | 998 | 49% | ||
| Laytown & Drogheda Educate Together Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 520 | 48% | ||
| Scoil Náisíunta Naomh FeichínPrimary | 307 | 48% | ||
| St Itas Special SchoolSpecial | 207 | 40% |
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary): enrolments by sex and the DEIS list. Shares are of pupils, not of schools; a county’s are the schools listed with its towns.
Who runs Beaulieu’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
6 of Beaulieu’s 12 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Armagh (4), Educate Together (3) and Drogheda Grammar School Ltd (1). 2 of the 12 are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% across Ireland).
Department of Education school lists: ethos 2025/26, patron 2024/25 (the 2025/26 lists don’t give it). DEIS list 2025/26.
The 7 patrons of Beaulieu’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Archbishop of Armagh is patron of 4 of the 12 schools around Beaulieu, which teach 19% of their pupils; 7 patrons run them in all. An Education and Training Board runs one of them. Educate Together runs 4.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of ArmaghPresentation Convent, Scoil Oilibhéir Naofa, Scoil Náisíunta Naomh Feichín, St Itas Special School | Catholic | 4 | 1,252 |
| Educate TogetherLaytown & Drogheda Educate Together, Le Cheile Educate Together NS, Aston Village Educate Together | Multi-denominational | 3 | 1,278 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustSt. Joseph's C.B.S. | Catholic | 1 | 1,128 |
| Louth & Meath ETB & Educate TogetherBallymakenny College | Multi-denominational | 1 | 998 |
| CEISTOur Lady's College | Catholic | 1 | 965 |
| Drogheda Grammar School LtdDrogheda Grammar School | Quaker | 1 | 557 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa | Multi-denominational | 1 | 383 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Beaulieu
Starting primary school
Children can start primary school once they are four, and must be in school by six. Families apply to each school directly. Every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice; a school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its policy. Since the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, a Catholic or other majority-faith primary school can’t put baptised children first; a school of a minority faith still can, to keep its ethos.
Moving to secondary school
Children move to post-primary school at about twelve, after sixth class. Again, families apply to each school, usually a year or more ahead, and an oversubscribed school admits on its published criteria, often brothers and sisters and its feeder primary schools. The fee-paying school here sets its own fees and admissions.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
6 schools here have grown by 5% or more since 2019/20, 4 have shrunk by as much, out of 11; across Ireland: +5%.
All 11 schools
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September, 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary). No capacity is published, so how full a school is can’t be shown.
Inspection reports for Beaulieu’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
The Inspectorate inspects schools in several ways: a whole-school evaluation covers teaching, learning and how the school is led; a subject inspection looks at one subject; a follow-through checks on earlier advice. Reports go on gov.ie with the school’s reply.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 12 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Aston Village Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Drogheda Grammar SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Le Cheile Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St. Joseph's C.B.S.Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Our Lady's CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Oilibhéir NaofaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Presentation ConventPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil an Bhradáin FeasaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Ballymakenny CollegePost-primary · Community school | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Laytown & Drogheda Educate Together Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Náisíunta Naomh FeichínPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Itas Special SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Beaulieu
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
9 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Beaulieu: 6 voluntary secondary schools, 2 ETB schools and one community school. 3 of them are single-sex, 2 for girls and 1 for boys. One of them charges fees. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drogheda Grammar SchoolVoluntary secondary · Quaker | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 557 | 2 km |
| St. Joseph's C.B.S.Voluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 1,128 | 2.3 km |
| Our Lady's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 965 | 2.4 km |
| Ballymakenny CollegeCommunity school · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 998 | 2.8 km |
| Laytown & Drogheda Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 520 | 3.2 km |
| Sacred Heart Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 717 | 3.9 km |
| St Mary's Diocesan SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 917 | 4.3 km |
| St Oliver's Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 1,422 | 5.6 km |
| Colaiste na hInseETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,021 | 6.2 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Beaulieu
St Itas Special School is the special school here, with 207 pupils. 4 of the 6 primary schools have special classes for children who need more support. Their cards ↑
Special schools and primary schools with special classes as the Department lists them; the National Council for Special Education places pupils in special classes.
Beaulieu beside the 128 other Irish towns of 200 to 300 people
Towns of a similar size, with the schools in or within 3 km of each; ordered by population, never ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gneevgullia | 300 | 1 | 131 | 0 | 0% | 4.8 km |
| … | ||||||
| Glassan | 218 | 1 | 293 | 0 | 0% | 6.6 km |
| Rathcoole | 218 | 1 | 76 | 0 | 0% | 7.4 km |
| Ballycumber | 216 | 1 | 110 | 0 | 100% | 5.1 km |
| Ballydesmond | 216 | 1 | 104 | 0 | 0% | 11 km |
| Beaulieu | 215 | 12 | 6,561 | 1 | 17% | 2 km |
| Ballynacargy | 215 | 1 | 55 | 0 | 100% | 8.6 km |
| Dunderrow | 213 | 2 | 270 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 km |
| Knocknagree | 213 | 1 | 83 | 0 | 0% | 5.5 km |
| Quigleys Point | 213 | 1 | 199 | 0 | 0% | 12 km |
| … | ||||||
| Lahardane | 200 | 1 | 76 | 0 | 0% | 7.1 km |
No other town of its size has as many pupils at the schools around it as Beaulieu. Teaching through Irish is on offer within 3 km in 7 of the 129.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Schools in the towns around Beaulieu
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaulieu | 12 | 6,561 | 1 | 17% | 2 km |
| Termonfeckin 3.7 km | 2 | 508 | 0 | 0% | 5.4 km |
| Drogheda 3.8 km | 29 | 14,360 | 2 | 28% | 0.5 km |
| Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney 4.9 km | 11 | 5,783 | 1 | 0% | 1.4 km |
| Clogherhead 7.3 km | 2 | 568 | 0 | 0% | 9.1 km |
| Tullyallen 7.3 km | 1 | 411 | 0 | 0% | 3.7 km |
| Duleek 12 km | 4 | 957 | 0 | 50% | 6.8 km |
Drogheda has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Beaulieu changed by +21%; among its neighbours, Drogheda’s grew most (+7%) and Tullyallen’s least (−17%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Beaulieu or within 3 km of its outline, as the Department places it: families here use them. Schools further out are on the map of each school’s own page.
- The kinds of school. Primary schools take children from junior infants to sixth class, about ages 4 to 12. Post-primary schools teach the Junior and Leaving Certificate, about ages 12 to 18: voluntary secondary schools (mostly with a religious patron), ETB schools and community colleges run by an Education and Training Board, and community and comprehensive schools. Special schools teach children with particular needs.
- Teaching through Irish. All-Irish: every subject taught through Irish, in the Gaeltacht or, outside it, a Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste. Partly in Irish: an Irish stream (some classes entirely through Irish) or some subjects through Irish. Every other school teaches Irish as a subject.
- DEIS. DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) gives schools serving disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and support; the Department decides which schools are in it.
- Ethos and patron. Most Irish schools are owned by a patron, mostly a church; the patron sets the school’s ethos. Multi-denominational schools (Educate Together, many ETB schools) teach children of every faith and none together.
- No grade. Section 53 of the Education Act 1998 lets the Minister refuse to release information that would allow schools’ exam results to be compared, and no results are published school by school. So Ireland’s schools have no letters and its towns no School Grade; nothing on this page ranks them.
- What isn’t here. What the UK and French pages show from results, these can’t: results charts, results against pupils’ backgrounds and towns ranked by their schools (no published results), and how full each school is (no capacity is published). Every post-primary school teaches to the Leaving Certificate, so there is no sixth-form split to show.
- Inspections. The Inspectorate’s reports are linked from each school’s page. They give no overall grade, so none is shown.
- The year. The 2025/26 lists are the Department’s preliminary release; numbers can change a little in the final lists.
Questions about schools in Beaulieu
How many schools are there in Beaulieu?
In Beaulieu or within 3 km of it: 6 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 6,561 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Beaulieu that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Beaulieu?
1 of the 5: Drogheda Grammar School. The others are free.
What is the best school in Beaulieu?
We don’t say. Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them; a ranking would rest on guesses. Each school’s page has its own facts and a link to its inspection reports, and visiting the schools you are weighing is still the best guide.
How do I get a place at a school in Beaulieu?
Apply to each school directly: every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates. If it has more applicants than places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · one school placed with OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
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).