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.
25. Renfrewshire
In Renfrewshire, there were seven high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were Bishopton Primary School; Bridge Of Weir Primary School; Houston Primary School; Langbank Primary School; St Anne's Primary School; St Catherine's Primary School; and St John Bosco Primary School. | Bridge Of Weir Primary School/Google
26. Scottish Borders
In the Scottish Borders Council area, there were two high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were Clovenfords Primary School and Swinton Primary School. | Swinton Primary School/Google
27. Shetland Islands
While the Shetland 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-achieving primary was Aith Junior High School, which had over 90% of pupils reach two of the target skill levels, and 80-90% reach the other two. | Aith Junior High School/Google
28. South Ayrshire
In South Ayrshire, there were three high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were St John's Primary School; Struthers Primary School; and Symington Primary School. | Symington Primary School/Google