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:
29. East Lothian
Of all East Lothian primary schools with published performance data, 29% were placed in the top band. This represents 7 local schools. Its top-performing schools were: East Linton Primary School, Gullane Primary School, Law Primary School and Ormiston Primary School - all with 87.5%. | (Law Primary School/Google)
30. Glasgow
Of all primary schools in Glasgow city with published performance data, 29% were in the top band. This represents 40 high-achieving schools. Its top performing schools were Garrowhill Primary School and Hyndland Primary School, both with 95% of children hitting the target level, while Carmunnock Primary School, Kelvindale Primary School and Mount Vernon Primary School all came in next with 92.5%. | (Garrowhill Primary School/Google)
31. Dumfries & Galloway
Of all Dumfries & Galloway primary schools with published performance data, 24% made it into the top band. This represented 11 local schools. Its top schools were: Whithorn School (90%), Hardgate School (87.5%), and Langholm Primary School (87.5%). | (Hardgate School/Google)
32. Shetland Islands
Of all Shetland Islands primary schools with published performance data, just 9% made it into the top band - or one school total. This school, the archipelago’s highest performer, was Scalloway Primary School, where about 90% of pupils met the key school skills targets. | (Scalloway Primary School/Google)