Photo: Sarah777 at English Wikipedia · Public domainThe schools around Kilmacanogue have fewer pupils than in 2019/20: −3%, below Co. Wicklow’s towns and Irish towns
That leaves Kilmacanogue below both Co. Wicklow’s towns (+12%) and Irish towns (+4%). Families in Kilmacanogue have 7 primary schools, 2 secondary schools and 2 special schools within 3 km, teaching 2,706 pupils. Ireland publishes no school results, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them, so these schools are described here, never 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 Kilmacanogue’s schools
One fee-paying secondary school
One secondary school within reach charges fees; the others are free. The fee-paying one: St. Gerard's School (623). Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
15 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: St. Kilian's Community School (2.2 km), Presentation College (3.8 km) and St. Gerard's School (3.9 km). Post-primary choices ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
The 11 schools in and around Kilmacanogue
Each school in or within 3 km of Kilmacanogue links to a page of its own. Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Where the 11 schools in and around Kilmacanogue 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 Kilmacanogue’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 Kilmacanogue
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
1 of Kilmacanogue’s 11 schools teach every subject through Irish: Scoil Chualann.
Who Kilmacanogue’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside 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 Kilmacanogue | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 30% | 23% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 7% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 45% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 0% | 20% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 59% | 4% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 30% of the pupils around Kilmacanogue, much as across Ireland (27%; Co. Wicklow: 23%). Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools: 59% here against 6%. The biggest school in DEIS is St. Kilian's Community School (427 pupils).
Each of the 11 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilmacanogue N.S.Primary | 204 | 52% | ||
| St. Kilian's Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | 427 | 39% | ✓ | |
| Powerscourt N.S.Primary | 114 | 51% | ||
| St Fergal's National SchoolPrimary | 373 | 50% | ✓ | |
| Bray School Project N.S.Primary | 223 | 48% | ||
| S.N. Muire Is GearardPrimary | 206 | 43% | ||
| St. Gerard's SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 623 | 43% | ||
| Scoil ChualannPrimary | 185 | 54% | ✓ | |
| St Andrews N.S.Primary | 204 | 45% | ||
| New Court SchoolSpecial | 100 | 27% | ||
| Marino School N.S.Special | 47 | 19% |
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 Kilmacanogue’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
6 of Kilmacanogue’s 11 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (4), Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COI (2) and Kildare Wicklow ETB & Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan Fathers) (1). 2 of the 11 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 7 patrons of Kilmacanogue’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Of the 11 schools around Kilmacanogue, 4 have Archbishop of Dublin as patron, teaching 36% of the pupils; 7 patrons in all. An Education and Training Board runs one of them.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinSt Fergal's, S.N. Muire Is Gearard, Kilmacanogue, Scoil Chualann | Catholic | 4 | 968 |
| Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COISt Andrews, Powerscourt | Church of Ireland | 2 | 318 |
| 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 |
| The Bray School ProjectBray School Project | Multi-denominational | 1 | 223 |
| Sunbeam House ServicesNew Court School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 100 |
| 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 Kilmacanogue
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 fee-paying school here sets its 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, 2 of the 9 grew by 5% or more and 4 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +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 Kilmacanogue’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 11 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Kilmacanogue N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St. Kilian's Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Powerscourt N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Fergal's National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Bray School Project N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Muire Is GearardPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St. Gerard's SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil ChualannPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Andrews N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| New Court SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Marino School N.S.Special | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Kilmacanogue
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Within 10 km of Kilmacanogue there are 15 post-primary schools: 11 voluntary secondary schools, 3 ETB schools and one community school. 3 of them are single-sex, 2 for girls and 1 for boys. Fees are charged at 3 of them. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Kilian's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 427 | 2.2 km |
| Presentation CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 667 | 3.8 km |
| St. Gerard's SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 623 | 3.9 km |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 747 | 4 km |
| Temple Carrig Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | – | 931 | 4.3 km |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 324 | 4.9 km |
| Coláiste RaithínETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 326 | 5.2 km |
| Woodbrook CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 623 | 5.4 km |
| John Scottus Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 211 | 5.4 km |
| St David's Holy Faith SecondaryVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 792 | 6.1 km |
| Greystones Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 765 | 6.5 km |
| Blackrock Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 236 | 8.5 km |
All 15 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Laurence CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 302 | 9.1 km |
| Colaiste Chraobh AbhannETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 778 | 9.2 km |
| Holy Child KillineyVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 382 | 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 Kilmacanogue
2 special schools serve the area: New Court School and Marino School N.S., 147 pupils between them. 2 of the 7 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.
Kilmacanogue beside the 124 other Irish towns of 900 to 1,700 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tullyallen | 1,697 | 1 | 411 | 0 | 0% | 3.7 km |
| … | ||||||
| Killybegs | 1,258 | 5 | 697 | 0 | 80% | 0.5 km |
| Kilpedder | 1,248 | 9 | 3,990 | 0 | 11% | 3 km |
| Whitegate | 1,248 | 2 | 391 | 0 | 0% | 5.2 km |
| An Clochán Liath | 1,247 | 3 | 825 | 0 | 100% | 0.6 km |
| Kilmacanogue | 1,240 | 11 | 2,706 | 1 | 18% | 2.2 km |
| Croom | 1,240 | 2 | 990 | 0 | 100% | 1 km |
| Drumshanbo | 1,240 | 2 | 752 | 0 | 0% | 0.8 km |
| Askeaton | 1,236 | 2 | 426 | 0 | 50% | 0.5 km |
| Headford | 1,235 | 4 | 1,120 | 0 | 0% | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clarinbridge | 905 | 2 | 451 | 0 | 0% | 5.5 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 8 of the other 124 towns than around Kilmacanogue. Within 3 km, 14 of these 125 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Kilmacanogue
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Kilmacanogue had 3,833 pupils in 2015/16 and 2,706 in 2025/26, fewer than before. Marino School N.S. grew most: +27% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Kilmacanogue
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 Kilmacanogue
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilmacanogue | 11 | 2,706 | 1 | 18% | 2.2 km |
| Enniskerry 3.4 km | 10 | 2,487 | 0 | 20% | 2.9 km |
| Bray 3.5 km | 30 | 9,081 | 4 | 27% | 0.7 km |
| Greystones-Delgany 5.7 km | 13 | 7,013 | 1 | 0% | 0.8 km |
| Kilpedder 6.8 km | 9 | 3,990 | 0 | 11% | 3 km |
| Shankill 7.2 km | 43 | 13,386 | 5 | 28% | 1.9 km |
| Kilcoole 9 km | 8 | 3,046 | 0 | 0% | 0.6 km |
Shankill has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 5. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Kilmacanogue changed by −3%; among its neighbours, Kilcoole’s grew most (+52%) and Bray’s least (+1%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Kilmacanogue 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 Kilmacanogue
How many schools are there in Kilmacanogue?
In Kilmacanogue or within 3 km of it: 7 primary schools, 2 secondary schools and 2 special schools, with 2,706 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Kilmacanogue that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Scoil Chualann teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Kilmacanogue?
1 of the 2: St. Gerard's School. The others are free.
What is the best school in Kilmacanogue?
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 Kilmacanogue?
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).