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.

13. St Andrew’s High School, Coatbridge
St Andrew's was ranked 13th in North Lanarkshire and 171st in Scotland. 35% of pupils left with 5 Highers or more. 1,292 students attend the school. | Google Maps

14. Coatbridge High School, Coatbridge
Coatbridge comes in at 14th in North Lanarkshire and 234th in Scotland. 29% of leavers achieved 5 Highers or more. 1,078 attend the school. | Wikimedia Commons

15. Bellshill Academy, Bellshill
Bellshill Academy came in 15th in North Lanarkshire, and 255th in Scotland. 27% of students achieved 5 Highers before leaving. 712 pupils attend the school. | Wikimedia Commons

16. Caldervale High School, Airdrie
Caldervale was ranked 16th in North Lanarkshire and 256th in Scotland. 27% of leavers achieved 5 or more Highers. 1,053 pupils attend the school. | Caldervale High School


