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.
21. North Ayrshire
While the North Ayrshire area 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 Lawthorn Primary School and St Anthony's Primary School – both of which had 90% of pupils meet three of their core skills targets, and 80-90% meet the other. | Lawthorn Primary School/Google
22. North Lanarkshire
In North Lanarkshire, there was one school where at least 90% of children met all four key skills targets: Whitelees Primary School. But a large group of others came in close behind it, with over 90% meeting three of the four targets, including Aitkenhead Primary School; Eastfield Primary School; New Monkland Primary School; St Mary's Primary School (Caldercruix); St Mary's Primary School (Cumbernauld); St Patrick's Primary School (New Stevenston); and Stane Primary School. | Whitelees Primary School/Google
23. Orkney Islands
While the Orkney Islands had no schools where more than 90% of pupils met all four key skills targets, it still had some high achievers - as well as many smaller schools with withheld data. Its top school was Papdale Primary School, which had 90% of pupils meet three of their core skills targets, and 80-90% meet the other. | Papdale Primary School/Google
24. Perth & Kinross
In Perth & Kinross, there were four high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were Arngask Primary School; Dunning Primary School; St Dominic's RC Primary School; and St Madoes Primary School. | St Madoes Primary School/Google