St Columba's Comprehensive School
Donegal
Key facts
- DEIS
- Mixed
- Pupils enrolled
- 400 smaller than the median Irish post-primary school (585 pupils)
- Girls and boys
- 198 girls, 202 boys
- Ethos
- Inter Denominational
- Teaching through Irish
- No subjects taught through Irish
- Roll number
- 81010J the Department of Education reference for this school
School details
Location
About
St Columba's Comprehensive School is a co-educational, inter-denominational secondary school in Glenties, Co. Donegal, with an enrolment of approximately 400 students. The school has DEIS status. The curriculum includes the Junior Cycle, Transition Year, the Leaving Certificate and the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme. The Junior Cycle incorporates Wellbeing as an area of learning, covering CSPE, PE, SPHE and Guidance education, along with classroom-based assessments and state-certified examinations. The school describes its ethos as one of mutual respect and inclusion, and states its purpose as providing students with opportunities to develop their interests and talents in academic and extra-curricular areas. A School Completion Programme operates within the school.
History
The school was one of the first four comprehensive schools established in the country at the end of the 1960s. Glenties was chosen as the location because it already had a vocational school and was the centre of a large catchment area. The site was previously a hospital, which was sold to the Department of Education for a nominal fee of 100 pounds plus 300 pounds compensation to the County Council. The official opening took place on Wednesday, 20th November 1968, with an intake of 314 pupils. The hospital building itself had a longer history: a workhouse was built in Glenties between 1843 and 1846, and after the Free State took over the facility in 1922 it was named St. Patrick's District Hospital, providing general medical services until the opening of Dungloe district hospital in 1958.
Applying to St Columba'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
Irish schools follow a standardised school year, so these nationwide post-primary school dates apply broadly to St Columba's Comprehensive School. Individual schools set their own discretionary closure days, confirm exact dates with the school.
- 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 Columba's Comprehensive School
How many pupils attend St Columba's Comprehensive School?
St Columba's Comprehensive School has 400 pupils enrolled, 198 girls and 202 boys. That makes it smaller than the median Irish post-primary school, which has 585 pupils.
Is St Columba's Comprehensive School a DEIS school?
Yes. St Columba's Comprehensive School is part of DEIS, the Department of Education programme called Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools. DEIS schools serve communities at risk of educational disadvantage and receive additional supports, which can include smaller classes, extra teaching posts and funding for books and meals.
What is the ethos of St Columba's Comprehensive School?
St Columba's Comprehensive School has an Inter Denominational ethos. It is a mixed post-primary school.