Secondary school is a time for students to secure key qualifications that will set them up for life after school, whatever path they may take.
The 2025 SQA results day is finally here, and students across Scotland will be receiving the long-awaited outcomes of their Nationals and Highers exams in the mail throughout the morning. For many, their hard work will have finally paid off, and there will be celebrations to follow - as well as more clarity around any conditional university offers they have waiting.
To mark the occasion, we’re celebrating the state-funded secondary schools that have done particularly well when it comes to students securing plenty of Higher-level qualifications before they depart. To do this, we looked at the Scottish Government’s most recent breadth and depth of qualifications data, covering the 2023/24 school year, as well as some supplementary information from independent data site Scotland’s Data on a Map.
More specifically, we’ve looked at the proportion of each school’s candidates that earned a pass in five or more Higher qualifications. This is an incredible achievement for any student, and while it certainly isn’t the only way to measure what kind of learning environment a school may provide, having high levels of their pupils meeting this mark can suggest a school is adept at setting them up for future success.
Here were the 21 schools across Scotland that came out on top:
1. Jordanhill School
At the top of the list is Jordanhill, an all-through school in Glasgow funded directly by the Scottish government. It is generally a high performer, frequently coming out on top in secondary school league tables. In the 2023/24 school year, an astounding 94% of its students attained five or more Highers, according to official data. | Google
2. Mearns Castle High School
Next up is Mearns Castle, a secondary school in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire – just out of Glasgow. In the 2023/24 school year, 83% of its students attained five or more Highers. | Google
3. Woodfarm High School
This is a secondary school in Woodfarm, East Renfrewshire. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had 83% of its students attain five or more Highers. | Google
4. Douglas Academy
Douglas Academy is a secondary school in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire. In the 2023/24 school year, 81% of its students attained five or more Highers. | Google