Avondale Community College
Rathdrum, Co Wicklow · A67 RR26 · Roll number 70810H
Avondale Community College is the only one of the post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Rathdrum. Every school in and around Rathdrum →
What stands out about Avondale Community College
- 644 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 644 pupils, 20% more than the 535 of 2019/20.
- In 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.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Kildare & Wicklow ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
- The only post-primary school in Rathdrum or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Avondale Community College had 644 pupils in 2025/26, against 559 in 2015/16 (+15%). Girls are 48% of them. Its roll rose in 6 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Avondale Community College
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 Avondale Community College 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 Avondale Community College
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 Avondale Community College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Avondale Community College directly, usually in the year before their child finishes sixth class; the school’s yearly admission notice gives the dates for applying and for its decisions.
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.
It is in DEIS, so it has extra support for pupils from disadvantaged areas.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Avondale Community College has grown by 20% since 2019/20. All the schools around Rathdrum together changed by +20%.
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 post-primary 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 post-primary schools, 1 have more pupils than Avondale Community College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +20%; 2 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avondale Community College | 644 | +20% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | |
| Coláiste Chill Mhantáin | 995 | +11% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| East Glendalough School | 365 | −1% | Church of Ireland | English | 14 km | |
| Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School | 404 | +963% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Dominican College | 461 | −0% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Gaelcholáiste na Mara | 279 | +2% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 16 km | |
| Glenart College | 633 | +52% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
The other 16 post-primary schools in Co. Wicklow
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arklow CBS | 392 | +5% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| St Marys College | 527 | −5% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Colaiste Chraobh Abhann | 778 | +4% | Multi-denominational | English | 22 km | |
| Greystones Community College | 765 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 25 km | |
| St David's Holy Faith Secondary | 792 | +37% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Temple Carrig Secondary School | 931 | +15% | Church of Ireland | English | 26 km | |
| St. Kilian's Community School | 427 | −4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| Presentation College | 667 | +4% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Loreto Secondary School | 747 | +0% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| St. Gerard's School | 623 | +13% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Coláiste Bhríde Carnew | 836 | −4% | Multi-denominational | English | 31 km | |
| Scoil Chonglais | 452 | −9% | Multi-denominational | English | 31 km | |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School | 324 | +43% | Multi-denominational | English | 32 km | |
| Coláiste Raithín | 326 | +11% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 32 km | |
| Blessington Community College | 737 | +44% | Multi-denominational | English | 33 km | |
| St Kevin's Community College | 829 | +32% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 34 km |
Living in Rathdrum
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the A67 Eircode area
Housing in Rathdrum →The median sale price rose from €418,800 in 2023 to €420,000 in 2025 (+0%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the A67 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Wicklow
Cost of living in Rathdrum →New tenancies in Co. Wicklow averaged €1,730 a month in 2025, against €1,635 in 2024 (+6%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Rathdrum, A67 RR26
Post-primary schools near Avondale Community College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Avondale Community College
Is Avondale Community College 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 Avondale Community College have?
644 pupils in 2025/26. That is +20% since 2019/20.
Does Avondale Community College teach through Irish?
No: Avondale Community College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Avondale Community College?
Avondale Community College has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Kildare & Wicklow ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Avondale Community College?
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 Avondale Community College?
The nearest are Coláiste Chill Mhantáin (13 km), East Glendalough School (14 km) and Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School (14 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 Rathdrum; 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).