The Sunday Times have released their secondary school league tables for 2025 - ranking each and every high school in Scotland based on the amount of Highers achieved by school leavers.
Jordanhill School is the best school in Scotland, extended its lead in the rankings for the ninth consecutive year with a record 94 per cent of pupils leaving the school with the Scottish government’s “gold standard” of five highers or equivalents.
The only mainstream, publicly-funded school in Scotland not under council control outstripped its nearest competitor by a clear 10 percentage points.
The biggest indicator of where a high schools rankings will lie in the league table is the level of wealth or deprivation evident in the surrounding area. This is clearly evident in North Lanarkshire, with an extreme disparity between the top school, placed 39th in Scotland, and the bottom school, placed 332nd in Scotland.
The top 10 high schools in Scotland were dominated by East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire.
Here is the updated North Lanarkshire secondary school league table based on the latest exam results from the 2023/24 academic year exam results.
This is the first time in recent years that Dalziel High School has not topped the board of the North Lanarkshire High School league tables. This was due to only 53% of school leavers at Dalziel leaving with 5 or more Highers in 2024, compared to 63% in 2023.
They were taken over by Our Lady’s High School in Cumbernauld, who also saw 53% of school leavers leaving with 5 or more Highers in 2024.
You can read the full list of Scottish high school rankings by clicking here.

5. Chryston Primary School
Chryston Primary School is ranked 5th in North Lanarkshire and 95th in Scotland. | Google Maps

6. Taylor High School
Taylor High School is ranked 6th in North Lanarkshire and 110th in Scotland. | Taylor High School

7. Cardinal Newman High School
Cardinal Newman is ranked 7th in North Lanarkshire and 120th in Scotland. | Cardinal Newman High School

8. Kilsyth Academy
Kilsyth Academy is ranked 8th in North Lanarkshire and 122nd in Scotland. | Wikimedia Commons