Achieving qualifications that open doors to new opportunities beyond high school is one of the most important parts of a student’s time there.
We’re revisiting some of the country’s highest achieving state-funded schools. We’ve based this on the Scottish Government’s breadth and depth of information data, which covers school years up to 2022/23 currently. More specifically, we’ve looked at the percentage of each school’s students gaining a pass in five or more Higher qualifications - as well as some supplementary information from independent data site Scotland’s Data on a Map.
Using these figures, we’ve been able to compare the schools that came out on top in the last available year, as well as across the four before it (dating back to 2018/19). This certainly isn’t the only measure of what makes a school a great place to learn, but it can help give parents some idea as to which of Scotland’s schools have maintained consistently high levels of students securing these important qualifications in their time there.
While some high-achieving schools came close, only a handful achieved a place in the top 25 over all of the last five available years. Here they are:

9. Turnbull High School
Turnbull High is a secondary school in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire - in the Greater Glasgow area. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 17.4 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 11th overall, with 69% of its students attaining five or more Highers. | Google

10. Eastwood High School
Eastwood High is a secondary school in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire - part of the Greater Glasgow area. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 14 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 14th overall, with 65% of its students attaining five or more Highers. | Google

11. Gryffe High School
Gryffe High is a secondary school in Houston, Renfrewshire. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 9.6 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 15th overall, with 64% of its students attaining five or more Highers. | Google

12. Cults Academy
Cults is a secondary school in Aberdeen. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 10 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it drew with two other schools for 15th overall, with 64% of its students also attaining five or more Highers. | Google


