The Press and Journal’s 2025 school league tables show Aberdeen Grammar ahead of Cults Academy.

Aberdeen Grammar outperformed the other city school by a significant margin.

Cults had led the charge for the previous three years.

In the north and northeast, Plockton High School, Elgin Academy, and Banchory Academy were among the top performers.

Schools are ranked according to the percentage of students who complete five or more Higher Education qualifications (or equivalent).

This is considered a benchmark of achievement because it is a common university admission requirement.

The best performing schools in each local authority area are:

• Aberdeen City – Aberdeen Grammar
• Aberdeenshire – Banchory Academy
• Moray Council – Elgin Academy
• Highland Council – Plockton High School
• Western Isles Council – Sir E Scott School
• Shetland Council – Brae High School
• Orkney Council – Stromness Academy
• Argyll and Bute Council –  Oban High School

Where were the biggest jumps in the 2025 school league tables?

Banchory Academy increased their score by six points to 58%, while Elgin Academy increased by the same amount to 39%.

In the Highlands, 215-pupil Plockton increased by 32 points to 62%.

Oban High School topped the Argyll and Bute table with a score of 46%, up 5% from the previous year.

Shetland’s Brae High School led the islands with a 14-point increase to 44%.

In the Orkneys, Stromness experienced a 6-point increase to 39% from the previous year.

The Sir E Scott School in Harris won the battle of the Western Isles, despite a nine-point drop to 41%.

Find out how your school performed in our table of Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland, and Islands local authority secondary schools.

Where did this data come from?

The Scottish Government publishes annual attainment data for all schools in Scotland.

Our 2025 school league table is based on the percentages of leavers who achieve five or more qualifications at SCQF level 6.

In addition to Highers, qualifications such as a National Certificate or Modern Apprenticeship may be included.

They also compare each result to the previous year.

League table for deprivation?

The publication of school league tables is controversial, with some viewing it as an indicator of deprivation rather than individual school performance.

There is an attainment gap between students from the most and least affluent areas.

Less than one-fifth of the students in our top ten schools for 2025 live in deprived areas.

At the other end of the scale, schools like Inverness High School and Aberdeen’s Northfield Academy face greater deprivation.

Here are the ten lowest-scoring schools in 2023/24, measured by the percentage of leavers with five or more highers or equivalent qualifications.

• Northfield Academy, 4%
• Inverness High School, 9%
• Invergordon Academy, 10%
• Keith Grammar School, 18%
• Alness Academy, 19%
• Mintlaw Academy, 20%
• Fraserburgh Academy, 20%
• Lochaber High School, 21%
• Lochside Academy, 22%
• Charleston Academy, 23%

But, in today’s world, is this truly the best indicator of success? Many people would disagree, including Gerry McCluskey, the head teacher at Peterhead Academy.

Last year, his school ranked low in our league tables, with only 14% of leavers achieving five or more highers.

This year’s figure for Peterhead is 24%.

In an April interview with the P&J, Mr. McCluskey stated that the league tables do not fully represent his school’s performance.

Gerry McCluskey took over as Peterhead Academy head teacher in August 2022.

He told us at the time, “The percentage of Peterhead Academy leavers who have a positive destination after school is 96%.

“That compares to Bearsden Academy. Yes, they are obtaining more Highers, but even though our students are leaving school earlier, they are still pursuing employment, further education, higher education, and graduate apprenticeships.

“You should also consider that as a community, Peterhead has almost a self-sustaining economy. We have a lot of opportunities because we are Aberdeenshire’s largest town, and there are many businesses and industries that are very appealing to our young people to work in.”

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