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:
1. East Renfrewshire
Of all East Renfrewshire primary schools with published performance data, 87% earned a spot in the top band. This represents 20 high-performing local schools. It had 12 excellent schools where at least 95% of pupils hit key school skills targets: Braidbar Primary School, Calderwood Lodge School, Carolside Primary School, Eaglesham Primary School, Giffnock Primary School, Hillview Primary School, Kirkhill 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. | (Eaglesham Primary School/Google)
2. Orkney Islands
Of all the primary schools across the Orkney Islands with published performance data, 86% made it into ‘Band 1’. This represents six high-achieving local schools. Its top-performing schools based on how many pupils hit key school skills targets were: Dounby Community School (92.5%), followed by Firth Primary School and St Andrew's Primary School (both 90%). | (Firth Primary School/Google)
3. East Dunbartonshire
Of all East Dunbartonshire primary schools with published performance data, 71% made it into ‘Band 1’. This represents 22 high-achieving local schools. The region had a whopping 9 schools where 95% of children hit the target level in their key school skills. These were: Baljaffray Primary School, Balmuildy Primary School, Bearsden Primary School, Craigdhu Primary School, Killermont Primary School, Lenzie Meadow Primary School, Millersneuk Primary School, Milngavie Primary School and Mosshead Primary School. | (Milngavie Primary School/Google)
4. Na h-Eileanan Siar (Outer Hebrides)
Of all Na h-Eileanan Siar primary schools with published performance data, 71% were in the top band - representing 5 fantastic local schools. Its top performing schools by the amount of children meeting essential skills targets were Laxdale Primary School and Tong Primary School (both 95%), followed by Sgoil an Rubha and Stornoway Primary School (both 87.5%). | (Laxdale Primary School/Google)