Photo: David Hawgood · CC BY-SA 2.0Few schools around Ballybeg teach through Irish: 3%, below Co. Waterford’s towns and Irish towns
That puts Ballybeg below both Co. Waterford’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). Families in Ballybeg have 21 primary schools, 9 secondary schools and 2 special schools within 3 km, teaching 12,349 pupils. 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 Ballybeg’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: De La Salle College (1,023), St Angela's Secondary School (937), C.B.S. Mount Sion, Waterford (494), Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School (479) and Presentation Secondary School (458). Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Families here can choose among 12 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: St Paul's Community College (1.1 km), Presentation Secondary School (1.6 km) and St Angela's Secondary School (2.2 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
The 32 schools in and around Ballybeg
Every school in Ballybeg or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. Ireland publishes no school-by-school results, which is why these cards have no letters.
Where the 32 schools in and around Ballybeg 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 Ballybeg’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 Ballybeg
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
1 of Ballybeg’s 32 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil na nDeise.
Who Ballybeg’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Waterford’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 Ballybeg | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 44% | 30% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 2% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 54% | 35% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
Around Ballybeg, 44% of pupils attend a school in DEIS; across Ireland it is 27%, and 30% in Co. Waterford. The biggest difference from Ireland is in post-primary pupils at single-sex schools: 54% here, 29% there. Of the DEIS schools here, St Paul's Community College is the biggest: 792 pupils.
Each of the 32 schools
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 Ballybeg’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
26 of Ballybeg’s 32 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Waterford & Lismore (16), Bishop of Ossory (4) and CEIST (2). 13 of the 32 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 10 patrons of Ballybeg’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Bishop of Waterford & Lismore is patron of 16 of the 32 schools around Ballybeg, which teach 39% of their pupils; 10 patrons run them in all. Education and Training Boards run 2 of them. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Waterford & LismoreS.N. Ursula Naofa, Presentation Primary School, S.N. Deaglan, St Stephens, Mount Sion CBS, Scoil Lorcain BNS, St Saviours, Our Lady of Mercy Senior P.s., St Pauls B, S N Baile an Bhuitléirigh, Scoil Naomh Eoin le Dia, Waterpark, An Teaghlaigh Naofa Girls Junior, Gaelscoil na nDeise, St Martins Special Sch, St Josephs Special Sch | Catholic | 16 | 4,790 |
| Bishop of OssoryS.N. Muire an Port Mor, S.N. Naomh Padraigh, Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS, Carigeen | Catholic | 4 | 724 |
| Le Chéile Schools TrustDe La Salle College, St Angela's | Catholic | 2 | 1,960 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustWaterpark College, C.B.S. Mount Sion, Waterford | Catholic | 2 | 1,115 |
| CEISTOur Lady of Mercy, Presentation | Catholic | 2 | 937 |
| Friends Patron Company clgNewtown School, Newtown Junior School | Quaker | 2 | 527 |
| Kilkenny & Carlow ETBAbbey | Inter-denominational | 1 | 1,004 |
| To be decided ETBSt Paul's | Inter-denominational | 1 | 792 |
| Educate TogetherWaterford Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 386 |
| Bishop of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory COIChrist Church | Church of Ireland | 1 | 114 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Ballybeg
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, 9 of these 30 schools have grown by 5% or more and 12 have shrunk as much; across Ireland the number of pupils changed by +5%.
All 30 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 Ballybeg’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
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.
The reports describe what inspectors saw and what each school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the 32 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 Ballybeg
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Within 10 km of Ballybeg there are 12 post-primary schools: 9 voluntary secondary schools and 3 ETB schools. 5 of them are single-sex, 3 for girls and 2 for boys. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Paul's Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 792 | 1.1 km |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 458 | 1.6 km |
| St Angela's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 937 | 2.2 km |
| Our Lady of Mercy Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 479 | 2.3 km |
| C.B.S. Mount Sion, WaterfordVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 494 | 2.4 km |
| De La Salle CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 1,023 | 3.2 km |
| Newtown SchoolVoluntary secondary · Quaker | Girls and boys | Boarding | 415 | 3.2 km |
| Waterpark CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 621 | 3.3 km |
| Abbey Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,004 | 3.9 km |
| Gaelcholáiste Phort LáirgeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 146 | 6 km |
| Coláiste Cois SiúireETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 167 | 8.6 km |
| Ardscoil na MaraVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 1,227 | 9.2 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Ballybeg
2 special schools serve the area: St Martins Special Sch and St Josephs Special Sch, 196 pupils between them. 9 of the 21 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.
Ballybeg beside the 97 other Irish towns of 3,700 to 7,100 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buncrana | 6,971 | 7 | 2,583 | 2 | 43% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Monasterevin | 5,307 | 5 | 1,605 | 0 | 20% | 0.7 km |
| Inchicore | 5,285 | 76 | 21,071 | 3 | 59% | 0.7 km |
| Ballyboden | 5,246 | 73 | 26,593 | 7 | 21% | 0.3 km |
| Knockrea | 5,228 | 84 | 24,668 | 9 | 49% | 0.3 km |
| Ballybeg | 5,226 | 32 | 12,349 | 1 | 41% | 1.1 km |
| Tullow | 5,138 | 4 | 1,339 | 0 | 75% | 0.5 km |
| Clonakilty | 5,112 | 6 | 2,124 | 1 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| Glounthaune | 5,000 | 32 | 10,210 | 4 | 19% | 3.7 km |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 33 | 11,452 | 5 | 33% | 0.2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Cork City Centre | 3,701 | 77 | 23,441 | 7 | 48% | 0.5 km |
Of these 97 other towns, 42 count more pupils at their schools than Ballybeg. 78 of the 98 towns have an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Ballybeg
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Ballybeg had 11,477 pupils in 2015/16 and 12,349 in 2025/26. C.B.S. Mount Sion, Waterford grew most: +54% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Ballybeg
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 Ballybeg
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybeg | 32 | 12,349 | 1 | 41% | 1.1 km |
| Kilbarry 1.1 km | 30 | 12,024 | 1 | 43% | 1.9 km |
| Lisduggan 1.2 km | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.2 km |
| Cleaboy 1.9 km | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.7 km |
| Poleberry 2.1 km | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.4 km |
| Ballytruckle 2.4 km | 32 | 12,776 | 3 | 41% | 1 km |
| Waterford City Centre 2.9 km | 33 | 12,411 | 2 | 39% | 0.5 km |
Ballytruckle has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 3. The roll around Ballybeg moved +3% since 2019/20; nearby, Lisduggan grew most (+4%) and Ballytruckle least (+4%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Ballybeg 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 Ballybeg
How many schools are there in Ballybeg?
In Ballybeg or within 3 km of it: 21 primary schools, 9 secondary schools and 2 special schools, with 12,349 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Ballybeg that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil na nDeise teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Ballybeg?
No: all 9 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Ballybeg?
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 Ballybeg?
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).