Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.043% of the schools around Tullamore are in DEIS: 86% around Co. Offaly’s towns, 35% around Irish towns
67% of the post-primary schools around Tullamore take only girls or only boys, above both Co. Offaly’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (39%). In or within 3 km of Tullamore: 10 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 1 special school, 4,273 pupils in all. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Tullamore’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: Colaiste Choilm (699) and Sacred Heart Secondary School (571). Every school ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
The 14 schools in and around Tullamore
Every school in Tullamore or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. You won’t find letters or results below: Ireland publishes none for single schools.
Where the 14 schools in and around Tullamore 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 Tullamore’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 Tullamore
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
1 of Tullamore’s 14 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil an Eiscir Riada.
Who Tullamore’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Offaly’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 Tullamore | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 43% | 42% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 4% | 2% | 6% |
| Girls | 48% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 63% | 18% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 43% of the pupils around Tullamore, a larger share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Offaly: 42%). Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of post-primary pupils at single-sex schools: 63% here against 29%. The biggest school in DEIS is Tullamore College (742 pupils).
Each of the 14 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tullamore CollegePost-primary · ETB | 742 | 57% | ✓ | |
| Colaiste ChoilmPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 699 | 0% | ||
| Sacred Heart Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 571 | 100% | ||
| St. Joseph's N.S.Primary | 360 | 46% | ✓ | |
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | 249 | 79% | ✓ | |
| Tullamore Educate Together NSPrimary | 236 | 50% | ||
| Arden Boys N.S.Primary | 215 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil an Eiscir RiadaPrimary | 185 | 54% | ✓ | |
| Charleville N.S.Primary | 173 | 46% | ||
| S.N. Naomh PhilomenaPrimary | 164 | 100% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Naomh Brighde BuachPrimary | 116 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Offaly School of Special EducationSpecial | 42 | 36% | ||
| Scoil Colmain NaofaPrimary | 322 | 45% | ||
| Ballykilmurry N.S.Primary | 199 | 45% |
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 Tullamore’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
11 of Tullamore’s 14 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Meath (10), Laois & Offaly ETB (1) and CEIST (1). 6 of the 14 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 5 patrons of Tullamore’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
The schools around Tullamore answer to 5 patrons, and Bishop of Meath leads with 10 of the 14 schools and 60% of their pupils. One is an ETB school. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of MeathColaiste Choilm, St. Joseph's, Scoil Colmain Naofa, Scoil Mhuire, Arden Boys, Ballykilmurry, Gaelscoil an Eiscir Riada, S.N. Naomh Philomena, S.N. Naomh Brighde Buach, Offaly School of Special Education | Catholic | 10 | 2,551 |
| Laois & Offaly ETBTullamore College | Multi-denominational | 1 | 742 |
| CEISTSacred Heart | Catholic | 1 | 571 |
| Educate TogetherTullamore Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 236 |
| Bishop of Meath & Kildare COICharleville | Church of Ireland | 1 | 173 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Tullamore
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, 4 of these 13 schools have grown by 5% or more and 6 have shrunk as much; across Ireland the number of pupils changed by +5%.
All 13 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 Tullamore’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
Reports come from whole-school evaluations (teaching, learning, leadership and management), subject inspections and follow-through visits that check earlier advice; gov.ie publishes each one with the school’s response.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 14 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Tullamore CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Colaiste ChoilmPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Sacred Heart Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St. Joseph's N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Tullamore Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Arden Boys N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil an Eiscir RiadaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Charleville N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Naomh PhilomenaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Naomh Brighde BuachPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Offaly School of Special EducationSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Colmain NaofaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Ballykilmurry N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Tullamore
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
4 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Tullamore: 3 voluntary secondary schools and one ETB school. Of these, 2 are single-sex: 1 for girls and 1 for boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tullamore CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 742 | 0.3 km |
| Sacred Heart Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 571 | 0.4 km |
| Colaiste ChoilmVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 699 | 0.5 km |
| Killina Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 759 | 7 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Tullamore
Offaly School of Special Education is the special school here, with 42 pupils. 9 of the 10 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.
Tullamore beside the 77 other Irish towns of 10,900 to 21,100 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpenterstown | 20,967 | 102 | 40,675 | 5 | 40% | 0.3 km |
| … | ||||||
| East Wall | 15,907 | 138 | 39,486 | 10 | 44% | 1.1 km |
| Cabinteely | 15,864 | 67 | 21,279 | 4 | 21% | 0.6 km |
| Ashbourne | 15,680 | 13 | 6,695 | 2 | 0% | 1.1 km |
| Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney | 15,642 | 11 | 5,783 | 1 | 0% | 1.4 km |
| Tullamore | 15,598 | 14 | 4,273 | 1 | 43% | 0.4 km |
| Tallaght | 15,588 | 85 | 30,738 | 9 | 42% | 0.8 km |
| Clontarf West | 15,296 | 151 | 40,521 | 9 | 51% | 0.3 km |
| Kimmage | 15,207 | 132 | 38,981 | 9 | 45% | 0.5 km |
| Castletroy | 15,093 | 29 | 10,543 | 3 | 52% | 1.3 km |
| … | ||||||
| Longford | 10,952 | 12 | 3,607 | 1 | 83% | 0.2 km |
Among the 77 other towns, 68 have more pupils at their schools than Tullamore 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 Tullamore
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 Tullamore had 4,140 pupils in 2015/16 and 4,273 in 2025/26. Charleville N.S. grew most: +92% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Tullamore
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 Tullamore
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
Since 2019/20 the pupils around Tullamore changed by +1%; among its neighbours, Kilcormac’s grew most (+24%) and Clara’s least (−5%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Tullamore 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 Tullamore
How many schools are there in Tullamore?
In Tullamore or within 3 km of it: 10 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 4,273 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Tullamore that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil an Eiscir Riada teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Tullamore?
No: all 3 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Tullamore?
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 Tullamore?
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).