Aberdonian parents of primary school-aged children can rest easy knowing that the city is home to scores of high-achieving state schools.
There are many factors that go into making a primary school an excellent place for pupils just starting their educational journey. But while grades and performance aren’t the only thing that matter, they can be a strong indicator that a school is supporting its students to excel and helping them to build a solid educational foundation.
Using 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.
The Scotland-wide average was a score of 80.5%, and 21 of the granite city’s 48 state primary schools exceeded it. This landed them a spot in performance band 1, which marks the country’s best performing schools.
Here are Aberdeen’s 21 super schools, which came out on top of the league table:
1. Cults Primary School
This is a mixed primary and nursery school in the Cults suburb, in west Aberdeen. In the 2022/23 school year an average of 95% of its pupils met the target level in listening and talking, numeracy, reading and writing. | Google
2. Milltimber School
Tied for first place, Milltimber School is another primary and nursery school, in Milltimber - just west of the city. In the 2022/23 school year it also had an average of 95% of its pupils meet the target levels. | Google
3. Ashley Road School
Ashley Road is a primary school on the west side of the Aberdeen City area. In the 2022/23 school year an average of 92.5% of its pupils met the target levels. | Google
4. Middleton Park School
Middleton Park is a primary school in the Bridge of Don area, north Aberdeen. In the 2022/23 school year an average of 90% of its pupils met the target levels. | Google