27-04-2025
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 .
