Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0Bray has 3 fee-paying secondary schools in and around it
Teaching through Irish: 13% of the schools around Bray, above both Co. Wicklow’s towns (8%) and Irish towns (8%). In or within 3 km of Bray: 17 primary schools, 9 secondary schools and 4 special schools, 9,081 pupils in all. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, 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 Bray’s schools
Fee-paying secondary schools
Several of the secondary schools within reach charge fees; the others are free. Fee-paying schools are listed with the rest below, each with its own page. Fee-paying: St. Gerard's School (623), Holy Child Killiney (382) and John Scottus Secondary School (211). Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Families here can choose among 22 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: Loreto Secondary School (0.7 km), Presentation College (1 km) and St. Kilian's Community School (1.4 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
The 30 schools in and around Bray
Every school in Bray or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
Where the 30 schools in and around Bray 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 Bray’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 Bray
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
4 of Bray’s 30 schools teach every subject through Irish: Coláiste Raithín, Scoil Chualann and Gaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh.
Who Bray’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Wicklow’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 Bray | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 28% | 23% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 9% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 41% | 20% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 28% | 4% | 6% |
The share of pupils at DEIS schools around Bray, 28%, is close to Ireland’s 27% (Co. Wicklow: 23%). Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools: 28% here against 6%. The biggest school in DEIS is Woodbrook College (623 pupils).
Each of the 30 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 747 | 100% | ||
| Scoil Padraig NaofaPrimary | 680 | 85% | ||
| Presentation CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 667 | 0% | ||
| Ravenswell Primary SchoolPrimary | 468 | 49% | ✓ | |
| St. Kilian's Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | 427 | 39% | ✓ | |
| Cronan Naofa N.S.Primary | 388 | 0% | ||
| St Fergal's National SchoolPrimary | 373 | 50% | ✓ | |
| Coláiste RaithínPost-primary · ETB | 326 | 58% | ✓ | |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 324 | 41% | ||
| Bray School Project N.S.Primary | 223 | 48% | ||
| St Andrews N.S.Primary | 204 | 45% | ||
| Scoil ChualannPrimary | 185 | 54% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil Ui CheadaighPrimary | 166 | 46% | ✓ | |
| St. Peter's Primary SchoolPrimary | 156 | 43% | ✓ | |
| New Court SchoolSpecial | 100 | 27% | ||
| Marino School N.S.Special | 47 | 19% | ||
| Woodbrook CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 623 | 43% | ✓ | |
| St. Gerard's SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 623 | 43% | ||
| St Kierans Spec SchoolSpecial | 59 | 47% | ||
| John Scottus Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 211 | 46% | ||
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | 249 | 45% | ✓ | |
| Kilmacanogue N.S.Primary | 204 | 52% | ||
| Powerscourt N.S.Primary | 114 | 51% | ||
| St Annes Mxd N.S.Primary | 440 | 50% | ||
| Rathmichael N.S.Primary | 205 | 53% | ||
| S.N. Muire Is GearardPrimary | 206 | 43% | ||
| St Columbanus National SchoolPrimary | 113 | 45% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil PhadraigPrimary | 118 | 52% | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ballyowen MeadowsSpecial | 53 | 19% | ||
| Holy Child KillineyPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 382 | 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 Bray’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
21 of Bray’s 30 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (12), Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COI (3) and An Foras Pátrúnachta (2). 8 of the 30 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 16 patrons of Bray’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
16 patrons run the 30 schools around Bray; the largest, Archbishop of Dublin, has 12 of them and 39% of the pupils. The local Education and Training Board runs 2. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinScoil Padraig Naofa, Ravenswell Primary School, St Annes Mxd, Cronan Naofa, St Fergal's, Scoil Mhuire, S.N. Muire Is Gearard, Kilmacanogue, Scoil Chualann, St. Peter's Primary School, St Columbanus, St Kierans Spec School | Catholic | 12 | 3,521 |
| Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COIRathmichael, St Andrews, Powerscourt | Church of Ireland | 3 | 523 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh, Gaelscoil Phadraig | Catholic | 2 | 284 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto | Catholic | 1 | 747 |
| Presentation Brothers Schools TrustPresentation College | Catholic | 1 | 667 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustWoodbrook College | Catholic | 1 | 623 |
| Board of Governors of St Gerard's SchoolSt. Gerard's School | Catholic | 1 | 623 |
| Kildare Wicklow ETB & Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan Fathers)St. Kilian's | Inter-denominational | 1 | 427 |
| Le Chéile Schools TrustHoly Child Killiney | Catholic | 1 | 382 |
| Kildare & Wicklow ETBColáiste Raithín | Multi-denominational | 1 | 326 |
| Educate TogetherNorth Wicklow Educate Together | Multi-denominational | 1 | 324 |
| The Bray School ProjectBray School Project | Multi-denominational | 1 | 223 |
| The John Scottus Education TrustJohn Scottus | Inter-denominational | 1 | 211 |
| Sunbeam House ServicesNew Court School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 100 |
| Health Service ExecutiveBallyowen Meadows | Catholic | 1 | 53 |
| Enable Ireland Disability ServicesMarino School | Catholic | 1 | 47 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Bray
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. The 3 fee-paying schools here set their own fees and admissions.
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, 8 of the 26 grew by 5% or more and 12 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
All 26 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 Bray’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 30 schools below links its own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Bray
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Within 10 km of Bray there are 22 post-primary schools: 17 voluntary secondary schools, 3 community schools and 2 ETB schools. 6 teach girls and boys apart: 4 girls’ and 2 boys’ schools. Fees are charged at 7 of them. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 747 | 0.7 km |
| Presentation CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 667 | 1 km |
| St. Kilian's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 427 | 1.4 km |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 324 | 1.4 km |
| St. Gerard's SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 623 | 1.5 km |
| Coláiste RaithínETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 326 | 1.7 km |
| Woodbrook CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 623 | 2.2 km |
| John Scottus Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 211 | 2.8 km |
| Temple Carrig Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | – | 931 | 5.2 km |
| Blackrock Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 236 | 6.1 km |
| St Laurence CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 302 | 6.3 km |
| Holy Child KillineyVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 382 | 6.3 km |
All 22 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St David's Holy Faith SecondaryVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 792 | 6.6 km |
| Cabinteely Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 512 | 7.6 km |
| Greystones Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 765 | 7.7 km |
| St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 270 | 8.3 km |
| Clonkeen CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 635 | 8.7 km |
| Stepaside Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 741 | 8.9 km |
| Rathdown SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 364 | 9 km |
| Holy Child Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 275 | 9 km |
| Loreto Abbey Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 757 | 9.4 km |
| Loreto College FoxrockVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 660 | 9.5 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Bray
4 special schools serve the area: New Court School, Marino School N.S., St Kierans Spec School and Ballyowen Meadows, 259 pupils between them. 10 of the 17 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.
Bray beside the 12 other Irish towns of 23,500 to 45,200 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drogheda | 44,135 | 29 | 14,360 | 2 | 28% | 0.5 km |
| Dundalk | 43,112 | 31 | 11,625 | 1 | 39% | 0.8 km |
| Swords | 40,776 | 24 | 10,901 | 2 | 13% | 0.8 km |
| Navan | 33,886 | 20 | 9,158 | 1 | 35% | 0.2 km |
| Bray | 33,512 | 30 | 9,081 | 4 | 27% | 0.7 km |
| Ennis | 27,923 | 18 | 7,595 | 1 | 33% | 0.3 km |
| Carlow | 27,351 | 19 | 7,832 | 2 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 19 | 8,557 | 2 | 11% | 0.6 km |
| Naas | 26,180 | 15 | 8,304 | 2 | 7% | 0.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Balbriggan | 24,322 | 17 | 8,295 | 2 | 29% | 0.3 km |
Of the other 12 towns, 5 have more pupils at the schools around them than Bray. 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 Bray
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 Bray had 9,750 pupils in 2015/16 and 9,081 in 2025/26, fewer than before. John Scottus Secondary School grew most: +77% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Bray
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 Bray
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bray | 30 | 9,081 | 4 | 27% | 0.7 km |
| Kilmacanogue 3.5 km | 11 | 2,706 | 1 | 18% | 2.2 km |
| Enniskerry 3.9 km | 10 | 2,487 | 0 | 20% | 2.9 km |
| Shankill 4.1 km | 43 | 13,386 | 5 | 28% | 1.9 km |
| Killiney 6.2 km | 45 | 13,019 | 1 | 31% | 0.7 km |
| Greystones-Delgany 6.9 km | 13 | 7,013 | 1 | 0% | 0.8 km |
| Ballybrack 7.1 km | 41 | 11,728 | 1 | 29% | 0.9 km |
Shankill has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 5. The roll around Bray moved +1% since 2019/20; nearby, Greystones-Delgany grew most (+16%) and Kilmacanogue least (−3%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Bray 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 Bray
How many schools are there in Bray?
In Bray or within 3 km of it: 17 primary schools, 9 secondary schools and 4 special schools, with 9,081 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Bray that teach through Irish?
Yes, 4: Coláiste Raithín, Scoil Chualann and Gaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Bray?
3 of the 9: St. Gerard's School, John Scottus Secondary School and Holy Child Killiney. The others are free.
What is the best school in Bray?
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 Bray?
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).