Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa
Frederick St., Clara, Co. Offaly · R35 H974 · Roll number 72530L
Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa is the only one of the post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Clara. Every school in and around Clara →
What stands out about Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa
- A small post-primary school: 333 pupils, against a typical 585.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+10%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- In 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.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Laois & Offaly ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
- The only post-primary school in Clara or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa had 333 pupils in 2025/26, against 251 in 2015/16 (+33%). Girls are 46% of them. Its largest roll was 344, in 2021/22. Its roll rose in 6 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa
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 Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa 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 Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa
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 Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa directly, usually in the year before their child finishes sixth class; 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.
It is in DEIS, so it has extra support for pupils from disadvantaged areas.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa has grown by 10% since 2019/20. All the schools around Clara together changed by −5%.
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 post-primary 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 6 nearest post-primary schools has more pupils than Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +10%; 3 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa | 333 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | |
| Killina Presentation Secondary School | 759 | +53% | Catholic | English | 7.8 km | |
| Meán Scoil an Chlochair | 740 | +24% | Catholic | English | 9 km | |
| Moate Community School | 913 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | 9.8 km | |
| Sacred Heart Secondary School | 571 | −4% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Tullamore College | 742 | +8% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 11 km |
| Colaiste Choilm | 699 | +15% | Catholic | English | 11 km |
The other 6 post-primary schools in Co. Offaly
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallen Community School | 441 | +17% | Inter-denominational | English | 16 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Cormac | 316 | +36% | Multi-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Banagher College | 556 | −6% | Multi-denominational | English | 30 km | |
| St.Brendan's Community School | 875 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 33 km |
| Oaklands Community College | 733 | −9% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 37 km |
| St Mary's Secondary School | 1,035 | +18% | Catholic | English | 37 km |
Living in Clara
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R35 Eircode area
Housing in Clara →The median sale price rose from €254,200 in 2023 to €287,500 in 2025 (+13%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the R35 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Clara
Cost of living in Clara →New tenancies in Clara averaged €1,104 a month in 2025, against €999 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Clara, R35 H974
Post-primary schools near Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa
Is Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa 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 Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa have?
333 pupils in 2025/26. That is +10% since 2019/20.
Does Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa teach through Irish?
No: Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa?
Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Laois & Offaly ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa?
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 Ardscoil Chiaráin Naofa?
The nearest are Killina Presentation Secondary School (7.8 km), Meán Scoil an Chlochair (9 km) and Moate Community School (9.8 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 Clara; 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).