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.
17. Inverclyde
In Inverclyde, there were two high-performing schools with at least 90% of children meeting all four key skills targets. They were Kilmacolm Primary School and St Mary's Primary School. | Kilmacolm Primary School/Google
18. Midlothian
While the Midlothian Council area had no schools where more than 90% of pupils met all four key skills targets, it still had some high achievers. Its top school was Rosewell Primary School – which had over 90% of pupils meet three of their core skills targets, and 80-90% meet the other. | Rosewell Primary School/Google
19. Moray
In Moray, there was one school where at least 90% of children met all four key skills targets: Cullen Primary School But others came in close behind it, including Newmill Primary School – which had over 90% of pupils meet three of their core skills targets, and 80-90% meet the other. | Cullen Primary School/Google
20. Na h-Eileanan Siar
In the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles) area, there was one school where at least 90% of children met all four key skills targets: Back School. But others came in close behind it, including Sgoil an Rubha and Tong Primary School – both of which had over 90% of pupils meet two of their core skills targets, and 80-90% meet the other two. | Back School/Google