St Nicholas Spec Sch
BALLINA, CO MAYO · F26 AV20 · Roll number 19773N
St Nicholas Spec Sch is one of 2 special schools in or within 3 km of Ballina. Every school in and around Ballina →
What stands out about St Nicholas Spec Sch
- A small special school: 30 pupils, against a typical 58.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 30 pupils, 50% more than the 20 of 2019/20.
- 11 girls and 19 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is Western Care Association; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Nicholas Spec Sch had 30 pupils in 2025/26, against 22 in 2015/16 (+36%). Girls are 37% of them. Its roll rose in 5 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St Nicholas Spec Sch
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 St Nicholas Spec Sch 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 St Nicholas Spec Sch
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 St Nicholas Spec Sch
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Nicholas Spec Sch 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: St Nicholas Spec Sch has grown by 50% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballina 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 St Nicholas Spec Sch. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +50%; 0 of the 1 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Nicholas Spec Sch | 30 | +50% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Dympnas Spec School | 33 | +6% | Catholic | English | 0 km |
The other 2 special schools in Co. Mayo
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Brids Special Sch | 40 | +90% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| St Anthonys Special Sc | 69 | +38% | Catholic | English | 31 km |
Living in Ballina
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F26 Eircode area
Housing in Ballina →The median sale price rose from €184,800 in 2023 to €200,000 in 2025 (+8%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F26 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballina
Cost of living in Ballina →New tenancies in Ballina averaged €1,019 a month in 2025, against €901 in 2024 (+13%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballina, F26 AV20
Special schools near St Nicholas Spec Sch
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Nicholas Spec Sch
Is St Nicholas Spec Sch 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 St Nicholas Spec Sch have?
30 pupils in 2025/26. That is +50% since 2019/20.
Does St Nicholas Spec Sch teach through Irish?
No: St Nicholas Spec Sch teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Nicholas Spec Sch?
St Nicholas Spec Sch has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Western Care Association.
How do pupils get a place at St Nicholas Spec Sch?
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 St Nicholas Spec Sch?
The nearest are St Dympnas Spec School (0 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 Ballina; 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).