St. Clare's Comprehensive School
Leitrim
Key facts
- Mixed
- Pupils enrolled
- 504 smaller than the median Irish post-primary school (585 pupils)
- Girls and boys
- 231 girls, 273 boys
- Ethos
- Inter Denominational
- Teaching through Irish
- No subjects taught through Irish
- Roll number
- 81013P the Department of Education reference for this school
School details
Location
About
St. Clare’s Comprehensive is a state‑funded post‑primary school situated on Ross Lane, offering a full range of Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate programmes. The school provides a balanced curriculum that blends academic study with a strong emphasis on personal development, wellbeing and extracurricular engagement. Students benefit from a variety of enrichment activities, including the Mind Matters mental‑health programme, sport teams such as U15 girls’ soccer and athletics, and vocational workshops like the TY Barista Course. Partnerships with further‑education providers, exemplified by regular ATU Sligo presentations, broaden learners’ awareness of post‑school pathways. Recent extensions completed in 2013 and 2018 have expanded the campus, delivering modern classrooms, specialist labs and dedicated spaces for technology‑enhanced learning. The school’s ethos, set out in its mission statement, promotes a caring, disciplined and Christian environment where every pupil can reach their full potential. A robust pastoral framework, student‑voice initiatives and a range of wellbeing services support a holistic approach to education, preparing students for both academic success and active community participation.
History
Comprehensive schools, funded by the State, were the forerunners of today’s community schools. In the late 1960s and early 1970s fifteen such schools were approved; St. Clare’s was the thirteenth, created through the amalgamation of Manorhamilton Vocational School and St. Joseph’s Secondary School. The school opened its doors in September 1972 on its present Ross Lane site, under the patronage of the Bishop of Kilmore and overseen by a local board of management. In 1973 it incorporated staff and students from the Vocational School in Kiltyclogher, raising enrolment to roughly 350 pupils. Today the student body exceeds 500, and the campus has been expanded with two major extensions completed in 2013 and 2018.
Applying to St. Clare's Comprehensive School
For a September 2027 place, a school's formal admissions process cannot begin before 1 October 2026. The school sets its own opening and closing dates in its annual admission notice.
National term dates 2026/27
View St. Clare's Comprehensive School's own calendar (2026/2027 school year)
Irish schools follow a standardised school year, so these nationwide post-primary school dates apply broadly to St. Clare's Comprehensive School. The school publishes its own calendar, linked above, and that is the authoritative source for its reopening date and discretionary closure days.
- October Mid-Term Break: Mon 26 Oct – Fri 30 Oct 2026
- Christmas Holidays: Wed 23 Dec 2026 – Tue 5 Jan 2027
- February Mid-Term Break: Mon 15 Feb – Fri 19 Feb 2027 (primary schools: Thu 18 Feb – Fri 19 Feb 2027)
- Easter Holidays: Mon 22 Mar – Sun 4 Apr 2027
Primary schools close for the last two days of the February mid-term week and may use discretionary days to take the full week, so their break can be shorter than post-primary schools'.
Frequently asked questions about St. Clare's Comprehensive School
How many pupils attend St. Clare's Comprehensive School?
St. Clare's Comprehensive School has 504 pupils enrolled, 231 girls and 273 boys. That makes it smaller than the median Irish post-primary school, which has 585 pupils.
Is St. Clare's Comprehensive School a DEIS school?
No. St. Clare's Comprehensive School is not part of DEIS, the Department of Education programme of additional supports for schools serving communities at risk of educational disadvantage. Not holding DEIS status says nothing about how good a school is, only about the profile of the community it serves.
What is the ethos of St. Clare's Comprehensive School?
St. Clare's Comprehensive School has an Inter Denominational ethos. It is a mixed post-primary school.