Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Edinburgh Live

National

Kris Gourlay

Edinburgh schools ranked from best to worst in new Times league table

Edinburgh Boroughmuir

The Times have recently released their list of the top performing schools in Scotland, taking into consideration the amount of pupils achieving the Scottish Government's "gold standard" of five Highers in 2021. With Boroughmuir making the top ten list, we looked at some of the standout performers in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Boroughmuir, having nailed down ninth position in 2021, returned strong and maintained the same spot in 2022. However, the main talking point from the list is that there has been a change in the Edinburgh school that finished second in the list.

In 2021, James Gillespie's High School finished in a strong 15th position. This year, they slipped all the way down to 26th on the list, in the process being overtaken by The Royal High School, who stole their 15h position.

Over the last few years, Highers have been awarded without exams, as due to the pandemic, grades were awarded based on projected performances, instead of the usual exam routine. After a two-year gap, sit-down exams returned in 2022.

Boroughmuir, finishing ninth, had 76 per cent of pupils obtaining five or more Highers in 2020, and dropped three per cent in 2021 to 73 per cent, with a total of 210 of people leaving having achieved. This was the school with the highest number of people having left with the "gold standard" requirements.

The Royal High School overtook James Gillespie's as the second-highest performing school in Edinburgh. (Google maps)

The Royal High School, fresh off the good news of moving up 18 places, had a percentage of 59 pupils achieving five or more Highers in 2020. In 2021, they had a huge surge to finish with 70 per cent of pupils in this category, only three less than top-performing Boroughmuir.

James Gillespie's High School had a disappointing result this year, dropping 11 places and losing six per cent off their number of pupils leaving with five Highers. In 2020, they had 68 per cent, that dropped to 62 in 2021. They also had just one less pupil leaving having left with five Highers, with 201 - compared to The Royal High School's 202.

St Thomas of Aquin's High School also gained a lot of positions within the list. In 2020, they finished 42nd, but in 2021, they made up 20 positions to finish 22nd. St Thomas also had a ten per cent increase in pupils achieving their gold standard Highers, going from 55 percent, to 65 in 2021. They had 126 pupils leaving with five Highers at the end of term.

Firrhill High School rounded off the top five performing Edinburgh schools, gaining five places since 2020's results. They also had a small, but positive increase of two per cent of pupils achieving five or more Highers, going from 60 per cent, to 62. They also had a significant amount of individuals leaving with five Highers, with 192 - 66 more than St Thomas of Aquin's.

Currie Community High School came sixth out of Edinburgh's schools, gaining 17 positions since 2020. They finished 29th, having previously come 46th in Scotland. Currie had 54 per cent of pupils leaving with five Highers in 2020. They gained eight per cent this year, jumping to 62. They also had 118 pupils leaving with five or more Highers.

Next up was Balerno Community High School, continuing the theme of improvement on the following year, going from 56th in the country, to 37th. They also gained eight per cent of pupils achieving the gold standard, going from 52 per cent in 2020, to 60 in 2021.

Full list of Edinburgh schools

2021 position	School	Regions	2020 percentage	2021 percentage	No. of leavers	2020 position
9	Boroughmuir High School	Edinburgh City	76%	73%	210	9
15	The Royal High School	Edinburgh City	59%	70%	202	33
26	James Gillespie's High School	Edinburgh City	68%	62%	201	15
22	St Thomas of Aquin's High School	Edinburgh City	55%	65%	126	42
27	Firrhill High School	Edinburgh City	60%	62%	192	32
29	Currie Community High School	Edinburgh City	54%	62%	118	46
37	Balerno Community High Scool	Edinburgh City	52%	60%	112	56
63	Craigmount High School	Edinburgh City	51%	53%	231	63
109	Queensferry Community High School	Edinburgh City	43%	45%	148	115
110	Portobello High School	Edinburgh City	40%	45%	234	140
140	Trinity Academy	Edinburgh City	51%	41%	150	66
148	Broughton High School	Edinburgh City	41%	41%	222	133
180	Liberton High School	Edinburgh City	21%	39%	107	309
218	Leith Academy	Edinburgh City	33%	35%	146	226
226	St Augustine's High School	Edinburgh City	37%	34%	125	183
257	Tynecastle High School	Edinburgh City	22%	32%	103	305
265	Drummond Community High School	Edinburgh City	29%	31%	54	256
279	Forrester High School	Edinburgh City	17%	29%	114	320
296	Craigroyston Community High School	Edinburgh City	9%	27%	91	338
335	Wester Hailes Education Centre	Edinburgh City	11%	14%	57	336