Mayo school with State's largest class size to get extra teacher next year
The West Mayo school plans to build a special needs unit in addition to new classroom as part of a planned extension
Fahy National School in Westport, which recorded the largest class size in the country this year, is to be allocated an extra teacher for the coming academic year, easing pressure on a school that has been grappling with rapid growth in pupil numbers.
The school had a class of 38 pupils, the largest in the State, matched only by St Peter and Paul boys' school in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, which also recorded a class of 38.
The Mayo News understands that it was a “challenging year” for Fahy National School, who began the current academic year just two pupils under the threshold required to secure an additional teacher. However, pupil numbers grew over the course of the year, pushing the school over the limit and leaving it without the extra staffing it needed to ease class sizes.
The staffing shortfall has now been resolved, with a new teacher appointed for the school for the 2026/27 academic year.
Growing pains
The school is in some ways a victim of its own success and last year could be described as growing pains.
The school has applied for funding to build a special education class and additional classrooms and is currently working with the Department of Education to achieve this.
The case highlights a wider issue with class sizes in primary schools around the country. Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton told the Dáil that there were 1,251 mainstream classes with 30 or more pupils in the 2025/26 academic year.
The Programme for Government commits to reducing the pupil-teacher ratio to the EU average of 19:1 over the Coalition's five-year term. It is worth noting that some progress has been made nationally as the ratio had already fallen from 28:1 in 2015 to 23:1.
For Fahy National School, the appointment of an extra teacher, together with the ongoing classroom building project, means the school's staffing and expansion plans are now on track for the years ahead.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme