Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.03 of the 5 secondary schools around Navan are single-sex
Girls and boys are taught apart at 60% of the post-primaries around Navan, above both Co. Meath’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (39%). 13 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 2 special schools are in or within 3 km of Navan, with 9,158 pupils between them. 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 Navan’s schools
Mostly single-sex at secondary
Most secondary schools here take only boys or only girls; the mixed ones are marked on the cards below. Single-sex: St Patrick's Classical School (967), Loreto Secondary School (920) and St. Joseph's Secondary School, Navan, (682). Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 5 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Loreto Secondary School (0.2 km), St. Joseph's Secondary School, Navan, (0.9 km) and Beaufort College (1 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
The 20 schools in and around Navan
Each school in or within 3 km of Navan links to a page of its own. These schools carry no letter or result: Ireland doesn’t release them school by school.
Where the 20 schools in and around Navan 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 Navan’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 Navan
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
1 of Navan’s 20 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Eanna.
Who Navan’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside Co. Meath’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 Navan | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 31% | 14% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 2% | 5% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 58% | 22% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 31% of the pupils around Navan, a larger share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Meath: 14%). Set beside Ireland, post-primary pupils at single-sex schools stand out most: 58% against 29%. The largest DEIS school here is Beaufort College, with 926 pupils.
Each of the 20 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Patrick's Classical SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 967 | 0% | ||
| Beaufort CollegePost-primary · ETB | 926 | 32% | ✓ | |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 920 | 100% | ||
| St Pauls N.S.Primary | 761 | 49% | ||
| St. Joseph's Secondary School, Navan,Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 682 | 100% | ||
| St Oliver Plunkett N.S.Primary | 399 | 51% | ✓ | |
| Mercy Convent N.S.Primary | 385 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Ard Rí Community National SchoolPrimary | 384 | 51% | ||
| Scoil Naomh EoinPrimary | 375 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Aine Naofa N.S.Primary | 312 | 52% | ✓ | |
| Navan Educate Together NSPrimary | 213 | 46% | ✓ | |
| S.N. MhuirePrimary | 205 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil EannaPrimary | 138 | 53% | ✓ | |
| St Ultans Special SchSpecial | 122 | 43% | ||
| St Marys Special SchoolSpecial | 83 | 31% | ||
| Flowerfield N.S.Primary | 40 | 35% | ||
| Coláiste na MíPost-primary · ETB | 913 | 38% | ||
| St Stephens N.S.Primary | 805 | 51% | ||
| Scoil BhrídePrimary | 392 | 54% | ||
| S.N. Nmh SheosamhPrimary | 136 | 51% |
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 Navan’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
15 of Navan’s 20 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Meath (13), Louth & Meath ETB (3) and Loreto Education Trust (1). 7 of the 20 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 6 patrons of Navan’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
The schools around Navan answer to 6 patrons, and Bishop of Meath leads with 13 of the 20 schools and 55% of their pupils. Education and Training Boards run 3 of them. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of MeathSt Patrick's Classical School, St Stephens, St Pauls, St Oliver Plunkett, Scoil Bhríde, Mercy Convent, Scoil Naomh Eoin, Aine Naofa, S.N. Mhuire, Gaelscoil Eanna, S.N. Nmh Sheosamh, St Ultans Special Sch, St Marys Special School | Catholic | 13 | 5,080 |
| Louth & Meath ETBBeaufort College, Coláiste na Mí, Ard Rí Community | Multi-denominational | 3 | 2,223 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto | Catholic | 1 | 920 |
| CEISTSt. Joseph's Secondary School, Navan, | Catholic | 1 | 682 |
| Educate TogetherNavan Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 213 |
| Bishop of Meath & Kildare COIFlowerfield | Church of Ireland | 1 | 40 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Navan
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.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Since 2019/20, 7 of these 18 schools have grown by 5% or more and 8 have shrunk as much; across Ireland the number of pupils changed by +5%.
All 18 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 Navan’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
Each school is visited by inspectors from time to time, for a whole-school evaluation of teaching, learning and leadership, for one subject, or to follow up earlier advice, and every report is posted on gov.ie with the school’s response.
The reports describe what inspectors saw and what each school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the 20 schools below each link their own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Navan
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Within 10 km of Navan there are 5 post-primary schools: 3 voluntary secondary schools and 2 ETB schools. Of these, 3 are single-sex: 2 for girls and 1 for boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 920 | 0.2 km |
| St. Joseph's Secondary School, Navan,Voluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 682 | 0.9 km |
| Beaufort CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 926 | 1 km |
| St Patrick's Classical SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 967 | 1.4 km |
| Coláiste na MíETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 913 | 1.9 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Navan
2 special schools serve the area: St Ultans Special Sch and St Marys Special School, 205 pupils between them. 9 of the 13 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.
Navan beside the 12 other Irish towns of 23,700 to 45,700 people
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km, listed by population: Ireland publishes no results, so none is ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drogheda | 44,135 | 29 | 14,360 | 2 | 28% | 0.5 km |
| Dundalk | 43,112 | 31 | 11,625 | 1 | 39% | 0.8 km |
| Swords | 40,776 | 24 | 10,901 | 2 | 13% | 0.8 km |
| Navan | 33,886 | 20 | 9,158 | 1 | 35% | 0.2 km |
| Bray | 33,512 | 30 | 9,081 | 4 | 27% | 0.7 km |
| Ennis | 27,923 | 18 | 7,595 | 1 | 33% | 0.3 km |
| Carlow | 27,351 | 19 | 7,832 | 2 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 19 | 8,557 | 2 | 11% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Balbriggan | 24,322 | 17 | 8,295 | 2 | 29% | 0.3 km |
Among the 12 other towns, 4 have more pupils at their schools than Navan does. Every one of them has an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Navan
Pupils every September at the schools in or within 3 km of the town, each counted at today’s site.
The schools in and around Navan had 8,077 pupils in 2015/16 and 9,158 in 2025/26. Beaufort College grew most: +61% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Navan
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.
Schools in the towns around Navan
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
Athboy has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Navan changed by +6%; among its neighbours, Athboy’s grew most (+7%) and Kentstown’s least (−15%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Navan 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 Navan
How many schools are there in Navan?
In Navan or within 3 km of it: 13 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 2 special schools, with 9,158 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Navan that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil Eanna teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Navan?
No: all 5 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Navan?
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 Navan?
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).