St Catherines Special School
Kilmullen Lane, Newcastle, Greystones, Co. Wicklow · A63 X985 · Roll number 19522L
St Catherines Special School is the only one of the special schools in or within 3 km of Newtownmountkennedy. Every school in and around Newtownmountkennedy →
What stands out about St Catherines Special School
- 89 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−5%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- 26 girls and 63 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is St Catherine's Association; its ethos is Catholic.
- The only special school in Newtownmountkennedy or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Catherines Special School had 89 pupils in 2025/26, down from 114 in 2015/16 (−22%). Girls are 29% of them. Its roll rose in 1 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St Catherines Special School
Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing schools by them, so this school has no letter and nothing here ranks it. Its facts are the Department of Education’s; its inspection reports are linked below.
What the Department of Education does publish for St Catherines Special School is on this page: its pupils each September since 2015/16, girls and boys, its patron and ethos, whether it teaches through Irish, whether it is in DEIS, and its inspection reports.
Newspapers print lists of how many of a school’s leavers go on to college. Those count destinations, not exam results, and depend on who a school takes in; we don’t use them.
Inspection reports on St Catherines Special School
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate visits schools and publishes its reports. The reports describe what inspectors saw; they give no overall grade, and we don’t make one. Reports for this school on gov.ie ↗
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.
Getting a place at St Catherines Special School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Catherines Special School follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
A school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its admission policy, often brothers and sisters, the area it serves and, for post-primary schools, its feeder primaries. A family refused a place can appeal.
Places in special classes and special schools are allocated with the National Council for Special Education.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St Catherines Special School has shrunk by 5% since 2019/20. All the schools around Newtownmountkennedy together changed by +12%.
Pupils since 2019/20
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; Department of Education enrolments 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary).
Side by side with the nearest special schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Of the 6 nearest special schools, 1 have more pupils than St Catherines Special School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −5%; 4 of the 4 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Catherines Special School | 89 | −5% | Catholic | English | ||
| New Court School | 100 | +4% | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| Marino School N.S. | 47 | +27% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| St Kierans Spec School | 59 | – | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Ballyowen Meadows | 53 | +13% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Our Lady of Lourdes School | 6 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 22 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 22 km |
Living in Newtownmountkennedy
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the A63 Eircode area
Housing in Newtownmountkennedy →The median sale price rose from €540,800 in 2023 to €573,700 in 2025 (+6%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the A63 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Newtownmountkennedy
Cost of living in Newtownmountkennedy →New tenancies in Newtownmountkennedy averaged €1,800 a month in 2025, against €1,728 in 2024 (+4%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Newtownmountkennedy, A63 X985
Special schools near St Catherines Special School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Catherines Special School
Is St Catherines Special School a good school?
We don’t grade it: Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them. Its inspection reports on gov.ie, a visit and a talk with the principal will tell you more than any table could.
How many pupils does St Catherines Special School have?
89 pupils in 2025/26. That is −5% since 2019/20.
Does St Catherines Special School teach through Irish?
No: St Catherines Special School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Catherines Special School?
St Catherines Special School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is St Catherine's Association.
How do pupils get a place at St Catherines Special School?
Apply to the school directly. It publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates; if more children apply than it has places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Which schools of the same kind are near St Catherines Special School?
The nearest are New Court School (12 km), Marino School N.S. (13 km) and St Kierans Spec School (15 km).
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · inspection reports on gov.ie, linked by roll number. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Facts from the Department of Education’s school lists. Listed with Newtownmountkennedy; nothing here rates the school.
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).