Achieving qualifications that open doors to new opportunities beyond high school is one of the most important parts of a student’s time there.
Each of these schools 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.
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 East Renfrewshire 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.
Here are the 7 East Renfrewshire secondary schools among Scotland's top performers in 2026.
5. Eastwood High School
Eastwood High School saw 67% of their pupils achieve at least five Higher qualifications. It ranks fifth in East Renfrewshire and 22nd in Scotland. | Google
6. St Luke's High School
St Luke's High School in Barrhead is the sixth best performing high school in East Renfrewshire as 47% of pupils gained at leave five Highers or more in 2025. Overall, St Luke's High School ranks as the 85th best performing school in the country. | Google Maps
7. Barrhead High School
Barrhead High School is the seventh best performing school in East Renfrewshire as 44% of pupils gained at leave five Highers or more in 2025. Overall, Barrhead High School ranks as the 106th best performing school in the country. | Google Maps