School Chooser

St Columban's Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedCatholic maintainedRoman Catholic329 pupilsBelfast
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredNorthern Ireland doesn't publish inspection grades or progress figures, so we can't give its schools a score. Pupil numbers, free school meals, special needs and attendance are below.
Pupils with special needs20%NI 20%
Attendance91.3%NI 94.0%
Pupils from low-income families68%Far more than most schools
Pupils on roll329Census October 2025

St Columban's Primary School is a catholic maintained school in Belfast for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 329 pupils. About 68 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in Northern Ireland.

31-51 Oldpark Avenue, Belfast, BT14 6HHAll details

Inspection

Schools in Northern Ireland are inspected by the Education and Training Inspectorate. Since 2024 its reports end with a written summary and next steps instead of a grade, and there is no published list of outcomes.

Find this school's ETI reports

Results

Northern Ireland publishes no results for individual primary schools, so there are none to show. Enrolment, free school meals, special needs and attendance are below.

Getting a place

There is no entrance test. When more children apply than there are places, the school's published rules decide, usually brothers and sisters first, then parish or feeder links, then whoever lives closest.

As a Catholic school it may put baptised Catholic children first.

Apply through the Education Authority's online admissions system in January.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll329Census October 2025
Pupils entitled to free school meals68%224 pupils; NI 26%
Pupils with special educational needs20%30 with a statement; NI 20%
Newcomer pupils4%arrived with little English; NI 8%
Catholic pupils90%as recorded in the school census; NI 45%
Boys and girls170 / 159

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.3% of the time. Across similar schools in Northern Ireland it was 94.0%. Northern Ireland doesn't publish figures on pupils who miss a lot of school, or on suspensions, for individual schools.

Attendance91.3%
Northern Ireland 94.0%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Missed without permission6.6%of school time; NI 2.5%

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Cliftonville Integrated Primary SchoolIntegrated280 m415ETI, no open data–Compare
Bunscoil Bheann MhadagainMaintained320 m184ETI, no open data–Compare
Holy Cross Boys' Primary SchoolCatholic maintained640 m386ETI, no open data–Compare
Edenbrooke Primary SchoolControlled740 m387ETI, no open data–Compare
Wheatfield Primary SchoolControlled920 m198ETI, no open data–Compare
Holy Family Primary SchoolCatholic maintained970 m476ETI, no open data–Compare
Carr's Glen Primary SchoolControlled0.7 miles293ETI, no open data–Compare
Malvern Primary SchoolControlled0.7 miles119ETI, no open data–Compare
Primary schools in Belfast

Questions parents ask

Is St Columban's Primary School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score St Columban's Primary School yet. Northern Ireland doesn't publish inspection grades.

How many pupils does St Columban's Primary School have?

329 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in October 2025.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
31-51 Oldpark Avenue, Belfast, BT14 6HH
Type of school
Catholic maintained school (Catholic Maintained school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Local authority
Belfast
Ward
Water Works
Setting
Urban
DE reference
1036715 · LAESTAB 1036715
Official recordGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from