Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0Around Poleberry, only 3% of schools teach through Irish, fewer than around Co. Waterford’s towns or Irish towns
In the comparison, Poleberry comes below both Co. Waterford’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). 18 primary schools, 9 secondary schools and 2 special schools are in or within 3 km of Poleberry, with 11,782 pupils between them. These schools are described rather than graded, because Ireland publishes no school results and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
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 Poleberry’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 ↓
One school growing fast
The fastest-growing school here is C.B.S. Mount Sion, Waterford: 320 pupils in 2019/20, 494 now. Getting a place ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Families here can choose among 11 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: C.B.S. Mount Sion, Waterford (0.4 km), Presentation Secondary School (0.6 km) and St Angela's Secondary School (0.8 km). Post-primary choices ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
The 29 schools in and around Poleberry
Every school in Poleberry or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
Where the 29 schools in and around Poleberry 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 Poleberry’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 Poleberry
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
1 of Poleberry’s 29 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil na nDeise.
Who Poleberry’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, 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 Poleberry | Co. Waterford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 47% | 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% |
More of the pupils around Poleberry are at DEIS schools than across Ireland: 47% against 27% (Co. Waterford: 30%). Set beside Ireland, post-primary pupils at single-sex schools stand out most: 54% against 29%. The largest DEIS school here is St Paul's Community College, with 792 pupils.
Each of the 29 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 Poleberry’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
23 of Poleberry’s 29 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Waterford & Lismore (15), Edmund Rice Schools Trust (2) and CEIST (2). 13 of the 29 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 Poleberry’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
Of the 29 schools around Poleberry, 15 have Bishop of Waterford & Lismore as patron, teaching 39% of the pupils; 10 patrons in all. The local Education and Training Board runs 2. 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, Scoil Naomh Eoin le Dia, Waterpark, An Teaghlaigh Naofa Girls Junior, Gaelscoil na nDeise, St Martins Special Sch, St Josephs Special Sch | Catholic | 15 | 4,548 |
| 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 |
| Bishop of OssoryS.N. Muire an Port Mor, Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS | Catholic | 2 | 399 |
| 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 Poleberry
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
Between 2019/20 and now, 9 of the 27 grew by 5% or more and 11 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
All 27 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 Poleberry’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
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 29 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 Poleberry
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Within 10 km of Poleberry there are 11 post-primary schools: 8 voluntary secondary schools and 3 ETB schools. Of these, 5 are single-sex: 3 for girls and 2 for boys. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.B.S. Mount Sion, WaterfordVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 494 | 0.4 km |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 458 | 0.6 km |
| St Angela's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 937 | 0.8 km |
| Our Lady of Mercy Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 479 | 0.9 km |
| De La Salle CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 1,023 | 1.1 km |
| Waterpark CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 621 | 1.2 km |
| Newtown SchoolVoluntary secondary · Quaker | Girls and boys | Boarding | 415 | 1.2 km |
| St Paul's Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 792 | 1.3 km |
| Abbey Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,004 | 1.8 km |
| Gaelcholáiste Phort LáirgeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 146 | 4.9 km |
| Coláiste Cois SiúireETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 167 | 9.7 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Poleberry
2 special schools serve the area: St Josephs Special Sch and St Martins Special Sch, 196 pupils between them. 7 of the 18 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.
Poleberry beside the 100 other Irish towns of 3,400 to 6,600 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinasloe | 6,597 | 6 | 2,019 | 1 | 50% | 1.8 km |
| … | ||||||
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 33 | 11,452 | 5 | 33% | 0.2 km |
| Fair Hill | 4,910 | 58 | 17,368 | 5 | 55% | 0.4 km |
| Mountmellick | 4,905 | 5 | 1,405 | 0 | 80% | 0.3 km |
| Duleek | 4,899 | 4 | 957 | 0 | 50% | 6.8 km |
| Poleberry | 4,875 | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.4 km |
| Chapelizod | 4,862 | 154 | 44,846 | 5 | 58% | 0.7 km |
| Cashel | 4,805 | 6 | 1,837 | 0 | 33% | 0.6 km |
| Tramore | 4,803 | 75 | 22,562 | 7 | 48% | 0.7 km |
| Listowel | 4,794 | 8 | 1,547 | 1 | 50% | 0.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clara | 3,403 | 3 | 699 | 0 | 100% | 0.3 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 43 of the other 100 towns than around Poleberry. Within 3 km, 78 of these 101 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Poleberry
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 Poleberry had 10,864 pupils in 2015/16 and 11,782 in 2025/26. C.B.S. Mount Sion, Waterford grew most: +54% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Poleberry
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 Poleberry
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poleberry | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.4 km |
| Waterford City Centre 0.8 km | 33 | 12,411 | 2 | 39% | 0.5 km |
| Lisduggan 1.1 km | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.2 km |
| Cleaboy 1.4 km | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.7 km |
| Ballytruckle 1.8 km | 32 | 12,776 | 3 | 41% | 1 km |
| Grange Upper 1.9 km | 29 | 11,835 | 2 | 41% | 0.8 km |
| Grange 2.1 km | 32 | 12,776 | 3 | 41% | 1.3 km |
Ballytruckle has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 3. The roll around Poleberry moved +4% since 2019/20; nearby, Lisduggan grew most (+4%) and Grange Upper least (+3%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Poleberry 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 Poleberry
How many schools are there in Poleberry?
In Poleberry or within 3 km of it: 18 primary schools, 9 secondary schools and 2 special schools, with 11,782 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Poleberry that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil na nDeise teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Poleberry?
No: all 9 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Poleberry?
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 Poleberry?
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).