We rely on primary schools to guide the young children in their care through some of their most important milestones.
These schools will oversee much of their pupils’ early social, emotional, and intellectual growth - and what children learn there will serve as the foundation for the rest of their educational journey. That is why it’s so important that parents choose a school that works for their child, and their family.
Each part of Scotland, from Edinburgh to the Orkney Islands, has its own collection of primary schools, including some which shine particularly bright. But how do Scotland’s different regions stack up when it comes to which has the best schools, those that are getting the most children across the goal line in learning essential school skills?
Using Scottish education statistics, Scotland’s Data on a Map publishes annual league tables for council areas across the country, rating how well the country’s state primary schools have performed each year. Schools are ranked using ACEL (or Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels) data. This shows the percentage of pupils across a range of different year groups who have achieved the expected levels in important school skills; literacy, numeracy, and speaking and listening.
Using the most recent data currently available (currently the 2022/23 school year until this year’s data has been finalised) we’ve ranked each of Scotland’s local authority areas based on the percentage of their state-funded schools to be placed in ‘Band 1’ - the highest available, reserved for those with more than 80% of their pupils hitting the mark.
We have also included the top-performing schools in each part of the country, those with the very highest percentage of children in their care meeting key targets for each age group. It is worth noting, however, that some primary schools - mostly those with very small class sizes - have been excluded from the data.
Here’s how each of the regions did:
5. Stirling
Of all Stirling primary schools with published performance data, 70% were in the top band. This represents 19 great schools. Its top performers were: Kippen Primary School and Strathblane Primary School (both 95%), followed by Dunblane Primary School, Gargunnock Primary School and Newton Primary School (all 90%). | (Kippen Primary School/Google)
6. Edinburgh
Of all Edinburgh primary schools with published performance data, 65% were in ‘Band 1’ for performance. This equates to 58 high-performing schools across the city. It had 13 top-performing schools, where at least 95% of pupils hit the performance targets: Blackhall Primary School, Bonaly Primary School, Canaan Lane Primary School, Corstorphine Primary School, Dean Park Primary School, Holy Cross RC Primary School, Kirkliston Primary School, Queensferry Primary School, Sciennes Primary School, South Morningside Primary School, St Mark's RC Primary School, Tollcross Primary School and Wardie Primary School. | (Corstorphine Primary School/Google)
7. Inverclyde
Of all Inverclyde primary schools with published performance data, 65% made it into the top band, representing 13 great local schools. Its top performers were: St Mary's Primary School and St Ninian's Primary School, both with 95% of children hitting the key skills targets, and Inverkip Primary School, Kilmacolm Primary School and Moorfoot Primary School not far behind with 92.5%. | (St Ninian's Primary School/Google)
8. West Lothian
Of all West Lothian primary schools with published performance data, 65% made it into the top band, representing some 41 incredible local schools. The high-performing region had 8 schools where at least 95% of pupils hit the key school skills targets: Bellsquarry Primary School, Linlithgow Bridge Primary School, Low Port Primary School, Mid Calder Primary School, Peel Primary School, Springfield Primary School, Torphichen Primary School and Williamston Primary School. | (Torphichen Primary School/Google)