Here are the best performing state high schools in North Lanarkshire, 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 2023 – based on data published by the Scottish Government on its own website.
The top performing school in North Lanarkshire this year in terms of academic attainment was Dalziel High School in Motherwell - which was ranked in the top 20 high schools in Scotland as the 18th highest achieving school, up from 49th on the national attainment league tables back in 2022. Just 1 of 23 schools (4%) appeared in the top 50 - while 3 (13%) appeared in the bottom 50 - out of the 340 high schools in Scotland with attainment results available.
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 North Lanarkshire Council, or whether or not the school is serving an underprivileged and disadvantaged area within the local authority.
League tables are based on the percentage of pupils at each school who achieved the Scottish Government’s educational “gold standard” of five Highers, or their equivalent, in 2023. This is the information that the Scottish government provides to give parents and students insight into the performance of schools across the country.
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.

1. Dalziel High School, Motherwell
Ranked #1 in North Lanarkshire and #18 in Scotland - 63% of the leaver cohort in 2023 achieved 5 Highers or more. A total of 1,002 pupils attend the school. | Wikimedia Commons

2. Our Lady's High School Cumbernauld
Our Lady's High School in Cumbernauld saw 48% of pupils leave with 5 Highers or more. 846 pupils attend the school. It's ranked 2nd in North Lanarkshire and 64th in Scotland in 2023. | Google Maps

3. St Maurice’s High School, Cumbernauld
St Maurice's came in 3rd in North Lanarkshire and 65th in Scotland. 48% of students left with 5 Highers or more in 2023. 953 pupils attend the school. | Wikimedia Commons

4. St Ambrose High School, Coatbridge
47% of students left St Ambrose with 5 or more Highers in 2023. It ranked 4th in North Lanarkshire, and 68th in Scotland. 1,464 pupils attend the school. | Google Maps
