Photo: David Hawgood · CC BY-SA 2.0Around Barntown, 100% of the post-primary schools take only girls or only boys, above Co. Wexford’s towns and Irish towns
100% of the post-primary schools around Barntown take only girls or only boys, above both Co. Wexford’s towns (55%) and Irish towns (39%). Loreto Secondary School, with 930 pupils, is the only secondary school within 3 km. These schools are described rather than graded, because Ireland publishes no school results and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Schools in the town or within 3 km of its outline, Department of Education lists for 2025/26; the Ireland figures cover all schools listed.
What stands out about Barntown’s schools
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 (3.4 km), St Peter's College (4.1 km) and Selskar College (Coláiste Sheilscire) (4.5 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
The 4 schools in and around Barntown
Each school in or within 3 km of Barntown links to a page of its own. Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Where the 4 schools in and around Barntown 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 Barntown’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 Barntown
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
None of the 4 schools in and around Barntown teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Barntown’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Wexford’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 Barntown | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 28% | 37% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 2% | 6% |
| Girls | 72% | 49% | 49% |
The share of pupils at DEIS schools around Barntown, 28%, is close to Ireland’s 27% (Co. Wexford: 37%). Where this area differs most from Ireland is girls, at 72% against 49%. Scoil Mhuire Coolcotts, with 573 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 4 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. MhuirePrimary | 336 | 46% | ||
| Wexford Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | 191 | 45% | ||
| Scoil Mhuire CoolcottsPrimary | 573 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 930 | 100% |
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 Barntown’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
3 of Barntown’s 4 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Ferns (2), Educate Together (1) and Loreto Education Trust (1). 1 of the 4 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 3 patrons of Barntown’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
The schools around Barntown answer to 3 patrons, and Bishop of Ferns leads with 2 of the 4 schools and 45% of their pupils. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of FernsScoil Mhuire Coolcotts, S.N. Mhuire | Catholic | 2 | 909 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto | Catholic | 1 | 930 |
| Educate TogetherWexford Educate Together | Multi-denominational | 1 | 191 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Barntown
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
Of these 4 schools, 3 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 0 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
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 Barntown’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
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 4 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| S.N. MhuirePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Wexford Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Mhuire CoolcottsPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Barntown
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
Families in Barntown have 5 post-primary schools within 10 km: 4 voluntary secondary schools and one ETB school. 4 teach girls and boys apart: 2 girls’ and 2 boys’ schools. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 930 | 3.4 km |
| St Peter's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 782 | 4.1 km |
| Selskar College (Coláiste Sheilscire)ETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 376 | 4.5 km |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 996 | 4.6 km |
| Christian Brothers Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 732 | 4.7 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Barntown
No special school is in or near Barntown. 3 of the 3 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.
Barntown beside the 166 other Irish towns of 400 to 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanagarry | 700 | 2 | 201 | 0 | 0% | 11 km |
| … | ||||||
| Foynes | 512 | 1 | 99 | 0 | 0% | 6.9 km |
| Castletownroche | 509 | 1 | 102 | 0 | 0% | 9.9 km |
| Drumcollogher | 509 | 4 | 747 | 0 | 25% | 0.6 km |
| Tagoat | 507 | 3 | 468 | 0 | 67% | 11 km |
| Barntown | 505 | 4 | 2,030 | 0 | 25% | 3.4 km |
| Glenville | 501 | 1 | 134 | 0 | 0% | 7.7 km |
| Stradbally | 500 | 2 | 134 | 0 | 0% | 8.7 km |
| Nurney | 497 | 1 | 183 | 0 | 0% | 8.5 km |
| Tievebane | 495 | 2 | 407 | 0 | 0% | 7.5 km |
| … | ||||||
| Oilgate | 401 | 2 | 152 | 0 | 100% | 6.2 km |
Among the 166 other towns, 6 have more pupils at their schools than Barntown does. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 12 of the 167.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Barntown
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 Barntown had 1,737 pupils in 2015/16 and 2,030 in 2025/26. S.N. Mhuire grew most: +19% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Barntown
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 Barntown
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barntown | 4 | 2,030 | 0 | 25% | 3.4 km |
| Wexford 3.8 km | 16 | 6,749 | 1 | 25% | 0.5 km |
| Castlebridge 8.1 km | 3 | 459 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 km |
| Rosslare 12 km | 3 | 512 | 0 | 100% | 8.7 km |
| Rosslare Harbour 16 km | 3 | 468 | 0 | 67% | 13 km |
| Enniscorthy 19 km | 9 | 3,951 | 2 | 44% | 0.9 km |
Enniscorthy has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. Of Barntown’s neighbours, Castlebridge saw the most growth in pupils since 2019/20 (+10%) and Rosslare the least (−17%); Barntown itself: +9%.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Barntown 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 Barntown
How many schools are there in Barntown?
In Barntown or within 3 km of it: 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school, with 2,030 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Barntown that teach through Irish?
None in Barntown or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Barntown?
No: the secondary school here is free.
What is the best school in Barntown?
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 Barntown?
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).