Scotland's best and worst secondary schools revealed in 2025 league table
Scroll down to find the top 20 best and worst high schools in Scotland
TOP MARKS Scotland's best and worst secondary schools revealed in 2025 league table
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SCOTLAND'S best and worst secondary schools have been revealed in the 2025 league tables.
The figures, published by The Sunday Times, rank high schools based on the percentage of pupils who achieved the 'gold standard' of five Highers or equivalents in 2024 and 2025.
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Scotland's best and worst schools have been revealed
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Jordanhill School topped the list for the ninth consecutive year
Credit: John Kirkby - The Sun Glasgow
Greater Glasgow continues to boast the highest number of top-performing schools - with eight of the top ten dotted across the region.
And for the ninth year running, Jordanhill School in Glasgow's West End, took the top gong.
The publicly funded secondary surpassed its closest rival by 10 points and achieved a record 94 per cent of gold standard students in 2025.
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.'
Schools in East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire nabbed seven of the top ten spots - with more than 77 per cent of pupils attaining the gold standard.
In second place was Mearns Castle High School in East Renfrewshire with an impressive 80 per cent of pupils achieving the gold standard in 2024 and 83 per cent in 2024.
And Woodfarm High School in East Renfrewshire came in at third with 73 per cent in 2024 and 83 per cent in 2025.
Schools like Bearsden Academy and Douglas Academy also continue to excel, while Aberdeen Grammar School and Boroughmuir Academy in Edinburgh round out the top ten.
All 125,000 Scottish Higher grades which were marked down are overturned and replaced with teachers' marks
But Edinburgh's state schools underperform relative to the city's wealth, partly due to the prevalence of private schools.
The attainment gap between the country's richest and poorest pupils remains as wide as it was a decade ago - despite government pledges to address it.
Schools in more affluent areas continue to achieve far higher results than those situated in more deprived regions.
Drumchapel High sits at 334th place with just 14 per cent of pupils achieving the gold standard.
The school is located less than two miles from Bearsden Academy, where 78 per cent of students attained the gold standard.
Largest improvements
LANGHOLM Academy near Gretna was Scotland's most improved school this year.
In 2024, Langholm Academy ranked 334th, with fewer than 5 per cent of its pupils achieving the gold standard.
By 2025, it had leapt to 128th place, with 40 per cent of pupils reaching the benchmark.
Similarly, Plockton High School in the Highlands saw remarkable progress, climbing from 224th to 26th place as its gold standard attainment rose from 30 per cent to 62 per cent.
Mallaig High School also made significant strides, jumping from 203rd place in 2024 with 32 per cent of pupils achieving the gold standard, to 37th place in 2025, with 56 per cent.
Other schools among the top ten most improved include Thurso High School, Rothesay Academy, Eyemouth High School, Kemnay Academy, Bertha Park High School, and Eastbank Academy.
Meanwhile, Jordanhill is funded by the government and is the only school in Scotland to be independently governed, rather than being controlled through the local authority.
But with it significantly outperforming nearby council-run schools with similar affluent catchments, its nine-year stint in the top spot has sparked calls for reform.
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.
'In any case, tables such as this say nothing about the gap or, indeed, the quality of schools.
'They simply confirm the huge impact of socioeconomic circumstances on attainment.
'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.'
Over recent years, there Scottish education system has faced setbacks with declining exam results, international assessments showing long-term deterioration and concerns over falling standards.
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth last year said exam results were "not good enough" as marks fell below pre-pandemic levels.
A Scottish government spokesman said: 'The Scottish government is providing direct investment in Scotland's education system and is providing £4.3 billion in this year's budget. This includes continued funding in the £1 billion Scottish Attainment Challenge as part of our key priority to close the poverty-related attainment gap.
'As a result of sustained investment, Scotland has record level of literacy and numeracy in schools, the lowest attainment gap since records began for literacy in primary schools and record number of young people entering work, training, college and university.'
The High School League Table 2025
Top 20 Jordanhill School - Grant aided (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 City) Boroughmuir High School (City of Edinburgh) Cults Academy (Aberdeen City) Bishopbriggs Academy (East Dunbartonshire) Dunblane High School (Stirling) North Berwick High School (East Lothian) Lenzie Academy (East Dunbartonshire) Linlithgow Academy (West Lothian) James Gillespie's High School (City of Edinburgh) Eastwood High School (East Renfrewshire) Gryffe High School (Renfrewshire) Strathaven Academy (South Lanarkshire)
Bottom 20 Whalsay School Stronsay Junior High School Dalry Secondary School Kinlochbervie High School (Highlands) Tiree High School (Argyll & Bute) Sandwick Junior High School (Shetland Islands) Mid Yell Junior High School (Shetland Islands) Baltasound Junior High School (Shetland Islands) Aith Junior High School (Shetland Islands) Sanday Community School (Orkney Islands) Westray Junior High School (Orkney Islands) Wester Hailes High School (City of Edinburgh) Castlebrae Community High School (City of Edinburgh) Pitlochry High School (Perth & Kinross) Kilchuimen Academy (Highland) Tobermory High School (Argyll & Bute) The Community School of Auchterarder (Perth & Kinross) Northfield Academy (Aberdeen City) Inverness High School (Highland) Ivergordon Academy (Highland)
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