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.

21. Clyde Valley High School, Wishaw
Clyde Valley was ranked 21st in North Lanarkshire and 302nd in Scotland. 21% of leavers achieved 5 Highers or more. 851 students attend the school. | Clyde Valley High School

22. Braidhurst High School, Motherwell
Braidhurst was ranked 22nd in North Lanarkshire and 310th in Scotland. 20% of pupils achieved 5 Highers or more upon leaving. 573 students attend the school. | Wikimedia Commons

23. Calderhead High School, Shotts
Calderhead is the 23rd highest ranked school in North Lanarkshire and 319th in Scotland. 16% of leavers achieved 5 Highers or more. 558 students attend the school. | Google Maps


