Across Scotland, primary school performance figures show hard-working teachers, staff and families at dozens of local schools have cause for celebration.
The summer holidays are flying by for Scottish schoolchildren, most of whom wrapped up the 2024/25 school year around June 26. This means that there are mere weeks to go until it’s time to return to the classroom - with the 2025/26 school year set to begin around August 13.
This also means a whole new cohort of children will soon be starting at a new primary school, setting out on their years-long learning journey by building a solid foundation of key academic skills. To mark the approach of the new school year, we’re celebrating the state-funded primary schools across Scotland that have excelled at teaching their pupils these important skills - namely reading, writing, numeracy, and listening & talking.
We’ve based this on the latest official performance data available on the Scottish Government’s primary schools dashboard for the 2023/24 academic year - as well as some supplementary information from independent data site Scotland’s Data on a Map. More specifically, we’ve looked at ACEL (or Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels) figures showing the percentage of each school’s pupils across a range of different year groups, who are achieving at the expected levels in all four measurements.
While it’s important to acknowledge success, it’s also worth noting that performance is far from the only thing that makes a primary school a great place to learn - and figures can naturally fluctuate year-on-year. On top of that, data for some very small schools has been withheld to protect pupil privacy.
9. East Dunbartonshire
In East Dunbartonshire, there were a whopping nine high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were Baljaffray Primary School; Bearsden Primary School; Clober Primary School; Craigdhu Primary School; Holy Family Primary School; Killermont Primary School; Milngavie Primary School; Mosshead Primary School; and Westerton Primary School. | Baljaffray Primary School/Google
10. East Lothian
While East Lothian had no schools where more than 90% of pupils met all four key skills targets, it still had some high achievers. Its top schools were East Linton Primary School and Ormiston Primary School – both of which had over 90% of pupils meet two of their core skills targets, and 80-90% meet the other two. | Ormiston Primary School/Google
11. East Renfrewshire
In East Renfrewshire, there were an amazing 12 high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were Braidbar Primary School; Calderwood Lodge P School; Carolside Primary School; Giffnock Primary School; Kirkhill Primary School; Maidenhill Primary School; Mearns Primary School; Netherlee Primary School; Our Lady Of The Missions Primary School; St Cadoc's Primary School; St Clare's Primary School; and St Joseph's Primary School. | Giffnock Primary School/Google
12. Edinburgh
In Edinburgh, there were seven high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were Buckstone Primary School; Canaan Lane Primary School; Dalmeny Primary School; Dean Park Primary School; Pentland Primary School; Sciennes Primary School; and South Morningside Primary School. | Canaan Lane Primary School/Google