A total of 10 primary schools across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands have scored full marks in our latest ranking of pupils’ performance.
Out of more than 400 schools, only these 10 gained a full 40 out of 40 possible points for the proportion of children in P1, P4 and P7 meeting expected curriculum levels for the categories of:
- Reading,
- Writing,
- Numeracy,
- Listening and talking.
You can search for how your school performed further down this article in our interactive, searchable table of best primary schools across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands.Â
What were the 10 best primary schools with full marks in our ranking?
In Aberdeen, three schools hit a full 40 points –Â Ashley Road School, Cults Primary School, and Milltimber School.
In Aberdeenshire, there were four schools scoring the maximum of 40 points – Drumoak School, Foveran School, Glenbervie School and Macduff school.Â
In Moray, just one school scored a full 40 points –Â Cullen Primary School.Â
And in the Highlands, there were two schools with 40 out of 40 points – Farr Primary School, Inverness, and Miller Academy Primary School.
Last year, there were seven primary schools with full marks.Â
Here’s some of the top schools for each area, and their scores…
Top-scoring Aberdeen primary schools
- Milltimber School, 40
- Cults Primary School, 40
- Ashley Road School, 40
- Hazlehead Primary School, 39
- St Peter’s RC school, 38
- Holy Family RC School, 38
- Charleston School, 38
- Broomhill School, 38
- St Joseph’s RC School, 37
- Loirston School, 37
- Kingswells Primary School, 37
- Kaimhill Primary School, 37
- Forehill School, 37
- Airyhall School, 37
Top-scoring Aberdeenshire primary schools
- Macduff School, 40
- Glenbervie School, 40
- Foveran School, 40
- Drumoak School, 40
- Tarland School, 39
- St Combs School, 39
- Lairhillock School, 39
- Banchory Primary School, 39
- Towie School, 38
- St Fergus School, 38
- Rothienorman School, 38
- Logie Durno School, 38
- Fishermoss School, 38
- Fettercairn School, 38
- Daviot School, 38
- Buchanhaven School, 38
Top-scoring Moray primary schools
- Cullen Primary School, 40
- Newmill Primary School, 39
- Bishopmill Primary School, 38
- Alves Primary School, 38
- West End Primary School, 37
- Rothes Primary School, 37
- Portknockie Primary School, 37
- Milne’s Primary School, 37
- Hopeman Primary School, 37
Top-scoring Highland primary schools
- Miller Academy Primary School, 40
- Farr Primary School, Inverness, 40
- Munlochy Primary School, 39
- Lairg Primary School, 39
- Lochardil Primary School, 38
- Carrbriddge Primary, 38
- Balloch Primary, 38
- Tarradale Primary School, 37
- Resolis Primary School, 37
- Muirtown Primary School, 37
- Mallaig Primary School, 37
- Culbokie Primary School, 37
- Central Primary School, 37
- Brora Primary School, 37
- Beauly Primary School, 37
Lowest scorers
At the other end of the spectrum, some of the lowest-scoring schools in each region were:
Aberdeen
- Heathryburn School, 25
- Bramble Brae School, 29
- Kittybrewster School, 29
- Manor Park School, 29
- Westpark School, 29
Aberdeenshire
- Fraserburgh North School, 20
- Dales Park School, 26
- New Pitsligo and St John’s School, 26
- Alehousewells School, 28
- Gordon Primary School, 28
- Lochpots School, 28
- Portlethen Primary School, 28
Moray
- Lhanbryde Primary School, 28
- Pilmuir Primary School, 28
- Mortlach Primary School, 29
- Rothiemay Primary School, 29
- Applegrove Primary School, 30
- St Peter’s RC Primary School, 30
Highland
- Merkinch Primary School, 23
- Mount Pleasant Primary School, 23
- Kiltearn Primary School, 24
- Milton Primary School, 25
- Obsdale Primary School, 25
- Coulhill Primary School, 26
- Hilton Primary School, 26
Find out your primary school’s score in our searchable table of more than 400 schools in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands
You can find out how your child’s primary school did by searching for it in our searchable table.
How were our scores for best primary schools awarded?
We scored schools based on the percentage of pupils in P1, P4 and P7 meeting expected levels in the Curriculum for Excellence, the curriculum used in Scottish local authority schools.
Pupils are assessed in four areas – listening and talking, reading, numeracy and writing – with teachers judging whether they have met expected levels.
Teachers do this in various ways, including observing children at work, assessing classwork, and talking to them about their learning.
They also use standardised assessments.
Our scores are based on the latest results for the 2023/24 academic year – known as Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels data – collated by the Scottish Government and published in December.
We awarded points for each of the four areas – one for 0 to 10% of pupils meeting expected levels, two points for 10% to 20%, up to 10 points for 90% or more – giving a maximum of 40 points.
For each school, the Scottish Government published only the percentage range – e.g. 80-90% – rather than an exact percentage.
No data was published for some smaller schools as the cohort size means individuals’ performance could be identifiable.
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