Gilson National School

The facts

What DEIS means here

DEIS Rural. This is the rural strand: extra literacy and numeracy support, School Completion Programme access and enhanced capitation. It does not carry reduced class sizes.

Added to DEIS in the 2022 expansion, so its supports are relatively recent.

Worth knowing: several things people associate with DEIS are now available in every school. Schoolbooks are free at primary and post-primary regardless of DEIS status, and since 2025 all primary schools are eligible for the hot school meals programme. What remains specific to DEIS is the staffing — reduced class sizes in Urban Band 1, the Home School Community Liaison coordinator, School Completion Programme access and enhanced capitation.

Band as published in the Department's DEIS list, last revised 2022-10-12.

What DEIS is, band by band, HEAR college entry, and whether it says anything about how good a school is →

Special classes

1 special class sanctioned for 26/27:

• 1 × Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Source: National Council for Special Education. Children in a special class travel under a separate transport scheme with its own rules.

The area around this school

School planning area: Oldcastle. This is how the Department plans where to build capacity. It is not a catchment.

Local house prices: the median residential sale price in Eircode district A82 (Kells) was €310,000 in 2025. That is up 75.9% since 2020. CSO figures for the whole district, not the streets beside the school.

Area profile: the Pobal HP Deprivation Index rates Oldcastle at -7.66 (Marginally Below Average), where 0 is the national average. 26% of adults there hold a third-level qualification.

Contact

Other schools in Oldcastle

• Cnoc An Teampaill Primary school, Cavan
• S N Fiach Primary school, Meath
• Scoil Mhuire Ns Primary school, Meath
• St Oliver Post Primary Secondary school, Meath