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:
13. North Lanarkshire
Of all North Lanarkshire primary schools with published performance data, 56% made it into the top band, representing 62 fantastic local schools. It had five schools where at least 95% of pupils hit performance targets: Greengairs Primary School, St Joseph's Primary School, St Mary's Primary School (Cumbernauld), St Michael's Primary School and Whitelees Primary School. | (Whitelees Primary School/Google)
14. West Dunbartonshire
Of all West Dunbartonshire state primary schools with published performance data, 52% made it into the top band, representing 16 high-achieving local schools. Its top performing schools were: Carleith Primary School, St Mary's Primary School (Duntocher), and St Ronan's Primary School (all 92.5%). | (St Mary's Primary School/Google)
15. South Lanarkshire
Of all South Lanarkshire primary schools with published performance data, 50% made it into the top band, representing 52 great local schools. It too had five excellent schools where at least 95% of pupils hit performance targets: Braidwood Primary School, Carstairs Primary School, St John's Primary School (Blackwood), St Joseph's Primary School and Wester Overton Primary School. | (Wester Overton Primary School/Google)
16. Aberdeen
Of all Aberdeen primary schools with published performance data, 45% were in ‘Band 1’ - giving it 21 high-achieving state schools total. The city’s top schools were: Cults Primary School (95%), Milltimber School (95%), Ashley Road School (92.5%), and Middleton Park School (90%). | (Milltimber School/Google)