Term Time Begins As Over 31 Thousand Go Back To School In Wicklow

Wicklow accounts for just over 3% of almost one million students nationwide.

Wicklow classrooms are filling up again this week as schools across the county reopen for the new academic year.

New figures out this morning show 31,130 children and young people are enrolled in Wicklow schools this September; 16,739 in primary and special schools, and 14,391 in post-primary.

Wicklow accounts for just over 3% of almost one million students nationwide, split between 536,000 in primary and 429,000 in post-primary.

That puts Wicklow among the ten largest counties for school-goers, behind Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kildare and Meath.

1,857 children start Junior Infants in Wicklow this year. Nationally, 59,900 Junior Infants are taking their first step into school, a slight increase on last year's 58,796.

At post-primary level, 2,428 Wicklow students are starting First Year, broadly in line with the national increase; in total 72,900 First Years are starting this September, compared to from 72,798 in 2025.

The back-to-school bill comes to 14.1 billion euro, the bulk of it - 8 billion euro - going on pay for more than 112,000 teachers and school staff.

All in all, it means another busy September for Wicklow's schools, staff and families as term begins.