Latest news with #JordanhillSchool
Scotsman
07-07-2025
- General
- Scotsman
The secondary schools that were among Scotland's top performers for 5 years running
Achieving qualifications that open doors to new opportunities beyond high school is one of the most important parts of a student's time there. The summer holidays are now in full swing for most schoolchildren across Scotland, with the final term of the 2024/25 school year ending around June 26. They're set to return to class for the start of the new, 2025/26 school year next month – around August 13. For many young people, this will mean starting at a brand new school, or entering a new phase in their education. The transition to the upper secondary school years in particular can be a daunting one, with pupils beginning to work towards a number of sometimes high-stakes exams like their National 5s and Highers. To mark the approach of the new school year, we're revisiting some of the country's highest achieving state-funded schools. We've based this on the Scottish Government's breadth and depth of information data, which covers school years up to 2022/23 currently. More specifically, we've looked at the percentage of each school's students gaining a pass in five or more Higher qualifications - as well as some supplementary information from independent data site Scotland's Data on a Map. Using these figures, we've been able to compare the schools that came out on top in the last available year, as well as across the four before it (dating back to 2018/19). This certainly isn't the only measure of what makes a school a great place to learn, but it can help give parents some idea as to which of Scotland's schools have maintained consistently high levels of students securing these important qualifications in their time there. While some high-achieving schools came close, only a handful achieved a place in the top 25 over all of the last five available years. Here they are: 1 . Jordanhill School Jordanhill is an all-through school in Glasgow, funded directly by the Scottish government. It has been in 1st place for at least five years in a row, including in the most recently-available year (2022/23) - where 89% of its students attained five or more Highers. | Google Photo Sales 2 . Bearsden Academy This is a state secondary school in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 3.4 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 2nd overall, with 81% of its students who sat their Higher exams attaining five or more of them. | Google Photo Sales 3 . Mearns Castle High School Mearns Castle is a state secondary school in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire - just out of Glasgow. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 6.6 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 3rd overall, with 80% of its students attaining five or more Highers. | Google Photo Sales 4 . St Ninian's High School St Ninian's is a Catholic state secondary school in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 3.4 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 4th overall, with 79% of its students attaining five or more Highers. | Google Photo Sales Related topics: ScotlandSchoolsStudentsParentsBoost
Scotsman
07-07-2025
- General
- Scotsman
The secondary schools that were among Scotland's top performers for 5 years running
Achieving qualifications that open doors to new opportunities beyond high school is one of the most important parts of a student's time there. The summer holidays are now in full swing for most schoolchildren across Scotland, with the final term of the 2024/25 school year ending around June 26. They're set to return to class for the start of the new, 2025/26 school year next month – around August 13. For many young people, this will mean starting at a brand new school, or entering a new phase in their education. The transition to the upper secondary school years in particular can be a daunting one, with pupils beginning to work towards a number of sometimes high-stakes exams like their National 5s and Highers. To mark the approach of the new school year, we're revisiting some of the country's highest achieving state-funded schools. We've based this on the Scottish Government's breadth and depth of information data, which covers school years up to 2022/23 currently. More specifically, we've looked at the percentage of each school's students gaining a pass in five or more Higher qualifications - as well as some supplementary information from independent data site Scotland's Data on a Map. Using these figures, we've been able to compare the schools that came out on top in the last available year, as well as across the four before it (dating back to 2018/19). This certainly isn't the only measure of what makes a school a great place to learn, but it can help give parents some idea as to which of Scotland's schools have maintained consistently high levels of students securing these important qualifications in their time there. While some high-achieving schools came close, only a handful achieved a place in the top 25 over all of the last five available years. Here they are: 1 . Jordanhill School Jordanhill is an all-through school in Glasgow, funded directly by the Scottish government. It has been in 1st place for at least five years in a row, including in the most recently-available year (2022/23) - where 89% of its students attained five or more Highers. | Google Photo Sales 2 . Bearsden Academy This is a state secondary school in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 3.4 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 2nd overall, with 81% of its students who sat their Higher exams attaining five or more of them. | Google Photo Sales 3 . Mearns Castle High School Mearns Castle is a state secondary school in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire - just out of Glasgow. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 6.6 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 3rd overall, with 80% of its students attaining five or more Highers. | Google Photo Sales 4 . St Ninian's High School St Ninian's is a Catholic state secondary school in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire. Over the last five available years, it has an average place of about 3.4 in the top 25. In the 2022/23 school year, it was 4th overall, with 79% of its students attaining five or more Highers. | Google Photo Sales Related topics: ScotlandSchoolsStudentsParentsBoost
Scotsman
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
The top ten best secondary schools in Scotland 2025 according to new Sunday Times guide
A new 'league table' of Scottish secondary schools has been published, with the west coast dominating the top 10. Jordanhill School tops the table The grant-funded Jordanhill School, the only mainstream school in Scotland which is not publicly-funded, extends its lead in the newspaper's rankings with 94 per cent of pupils leaving the school with five highers or equivalents. John Anderson, rector of Jordanhill School, is quoted by the paper saying: 'We are delighted for our pupils who have worked incredibly hard to achieve such well-deserved success. 'We are very fortunate to benefit from a fantastic team of teaching and support staff, and our parents are great supporters of the school.' 1 . Jordanhill School Jordanhill tops the list Photo: Google Maps Photo Sales 2 . Mearns Castle High School Mearns Castle High School in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, took second spot Photo: contributed Photo Sales 3 . Woodfarm High School Woodfarm High School is in Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire, finished in third. Photo: Amber Allott Photo Sales 4 . St Ninian's High School St Ninian's High School, East Renfrewshire, came fourth Photo: contributed Photo Sales
Daily Record
27-04-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Scotland's best secondary schools ranked in 2025 league table as full list revealed
Scotland's best secondary schools have been unveiled in the Times and Sunday Times Scotland High School League Table . And the top spot may come as no surprise to those who have been following the league table for years. Jordanhill School has been named the best high school in the country for the ninth year in a row, according to the ranking. The west end of Glasgow institution has extended its lead in the line-up for nearly a decade on the trot. A record 94% of pupils leave the school with the Scottish Government's 'gold standard' of five Highers or equivalents. The school is directly funded by the Scottish Government and is independently governed. This is different from other schools which are funded by councils. Jordanhill surpassed its closest rival by 10 points. The ranking also revealed that Greater Glasgow has the highest concentration of elite-performing schools in Scotland, accounting for eight of the top ten places in The Sunday Times Secondary School League Table. John Anderson, rector of Jordanhill School, told the Sunday Times : 'We are delighted for our pupils who have worked incredibly hard to achieve such well-deserved success. 'We are very fortunate to benefit from a fantastic team of teaching and support staff, and our parents are great supporters of the school.' East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire have reinforced their position as Scotland's education powerhouses. They occupy seven of the remaining top ten spaces, with more than 77% of pupils scoring the gold standard. Mearns Castle, Woodfarm, St Ninian's and Williamwood in East Renfrewshire, as well as Douglas Academy, Bearsden Academy and Boclair Academy in East Dunbartonshire, join Jordanhill among the top eight schools in Scotland . The top eight schools lie on a 19-mile route stretching across the River Clyde. Jordanhill sits within the Glasgow City boundaries but is more than 30 percentage points clear of Hyndland Secondary, the top performing council run school in Glasgow, which did not reach the top 20 this year. Conversely, Drumchapel High, just a 10 minute drive from Jordanhill , sits near the bottom 20, with just 14 per cent of pupils attaining the gold standard, throwing up Greater Glasgow's extremes of wealth and deprivation. Elsewhere, Aberdeen Grammar School has shot into the top ten, rising to ninth place from 15th in 2024, with a ten point rise in gold standard pupils to 74 per cent. Over on the east coast, Boroughmuir Academy in Edinburgh props up the top ten, down from fifth place, despite dropping just 2 points to 74 per cent gold standard. Wester Hailes High School in Edinburgh was among Scotland's weakest performing schools, scoring less than five per cent for the third year running. Keir Bloomer, chair of the Commission on School Reform think tank, said: 'Scotland needs to focus on raising standards for all, rather than simply on narrowing the attainment gap... 'Jordanhill may or may not be a better school than Wester Hailes but it certainly has a more privileged intake. It does benefit from the freedom of action that its form of governance allows and we need to look again at the way that schools are run. This includes ensuring that smaller and less affluent schools get the support they require.' Langholm Academy, near Gretna at the border with England, is Scotland's most improved school, with 40 per cent scoring the gold standard, up from less than 5 per cent last year. 1. Jordanhill School, Glasgow 2. Mearns Castle High School, East Renfrewshire 3. Woodfarm High School, East Renfrewshire 4. St Ninian's High School, East Renfrewshire 5. Douglas Academy, East Dunbartonshire 6. Bearsden Academy, East Dunbartonshire 7. Boclair Academy, East Dunbartonshire 8. Williamwood High School, East Renfrewshire 9. Aberdeen Grammar School, Aberdeen 10. Boroughmuir High School, Edinburgh The full list can be viewed here .
Edinburgh Live
27-04-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh best and worst high schools ranked in new Sunday Times league table
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Get the latest Edinburgh Live breaking news on WhatsApp Edinburgh's best and worst secondary schools have been revealed in the 2025 league tables. The figures, which have been published by the Sunday Times ranks the schools based on the percentage of pupils who managed to achieve the 'gold standard' of five Highers or equivalents in 2024 and 2025. Boroughmuir is the only school from the capital to secure a top ten place with the high school landing landing tenth on the list - down from fifth place. The next performing school was James Gillespie's High School at 17th place, followed by St Thomas Of Aquin's High School ranking in 24th. Craigmount High School came in at 27th and The Royal High School sits at 31st. However at the other side of the table, Wester Hailes High School was ranked at 346th - not far behind Castlebrae Community High School at 345th and Craigroyston Community High School at 333nd. Greater Glasgow boasts the highest number of top-performing schools with eight of the top ten dotted across the region. Jordanhill School in Glasgow's West End took to the top spot for the ninth year running. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sentstraight to your messages. John Anderson, rector of Jordanhill School, said: 'We are delighted for our pupils who have worked incredibly hard to achieve such well-deserved success. 'We are very fortunate to benefit from a fantastic team of teaching and support staff, and our parents are great supporters of the school.' The top 10 schools in Edinburgh are: Boroughmuir High School James Gillespie's High School St Thomas Of Aquin's High School Craigmount High School The Royal High School Currie Community High School Broughton High School Balerno Community High School Queensferry Community High School Trinity Academy The top ten Scottish secondary schools are: Jordanhill School, Glasgow Mearns Castle High School, East Renfrewshire Woodfarm High School, East Renfrewshire St Ninian's High School, East Renfrewshire Douglas Academy, East Dunbartonshire Bearsden Academy, East Dunbartonshire Boclair Academy, East Dunbartonshire Williamwood High School, East Renfrewshire Aberdeen Grammar School, Aberdeen Boroughmuir High School, Edinburgh To view the league tables for 2025, you can visit the Times site here.
