These are the best performing state high schools in Glasgow’s Southside, according to the latest data available.
Each school has been measured on the percentage of pupils who received the Scottish Government’s educational “gold standard” of five Highers, or their equivalent, in 2025 – based on data published by the Scottish Government on its own website.
The top performing high school in Glasgow’s Southside this year in terms of academic attainment was Shawlands Academy which was the sixth top performing school in Glasgow.
These Higher result tables do not reflect schools or rank them in terms of ‘best to worst’ as that would fail to take into account factors such as the support offered to children with complex needs, the effort and quality of the teaching staff, working conditions for said staff, quality of the student experience, the funding the school receives from Glasgow City Council, or whether or not the school is serving an underprivileged and disadvantaged area within the local authority.
Throughout our coverage, we use ‘Highers’ as a term to mean both Highers and equivalent qualifications at SCQF level 6 and above, such as Skills for Work Higher awards.
You can find the full list of Glasgow secondary school rankings here.
Here are all 9 Glasgow Southside High Schools ranked by latest data.
1. Shawlands Academy
Shawlands Academy in the Southside of the city is the sixth best performing high school in Glasgow as 52% of pupils gained at leave five Highers or more in 2025. Overall, Shawlands Academy ranks as the 61st best performing school in the country. | The Scotsman
2. Holyrood Secondary School
Holyrood Secondary School in the Southside is the seventh best performing school in Glasgow as 46% of pupils gained at leave five Highers or more in 2025. Overall, Holyrood Secondary School ranks as the 92nd best performing school in the country. | Holyrood Secondary School
3. Lourdes Secondary School
Lourdes Secondary School in Cardonald saw 36% of pupils gain a minimum of five Highers. It ranks thirteenth in Glasgow and joint 170th in Scotland. | Google
4. Bellahouston Academy
Bellahouston Academy has a success rate of 35% of pupils achieving five or more Higher qualifications. It ranked fourteenth in Glasgow and 187th in Scotland. | Bellahouston Academy