Banchory Academy regularly ranks amongst the top 25 state schools in Scotland, performing consistently well in SQA examinations. [1] In 2019, Banchory Academy was ranked as the highest performing state school in Aberdeenshire and the 12th highest performing state secondary school in Scotland, with 62% of Banchory Academy pupils obtaining at least 5 SCQF level 6 awards. [2] [3] However, since 2019, overall student attainment performance has continued to worsen, reflected by a drop in The Times' 2024 school league tables to 48th position across Scotland. [4]
A consistently above average proportion of pupils remain at school for fifth and sixth year to take National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses. [5] The HM Inspectors of Education report in 2006 judged school accommodation as being 'weak', noting that it was insufficient for the rising school roll. All other school quality indicators were rated 'good', 'very good' or 'excellent'. [6]
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education. Local government authorities are responsible for implementing policy for public education and state-funded schools at a local level. State-funded schools may be selective grammar schools or non-selective comprehensive schools. All state schools are subject to assessment and inspection by the government department Ofsted. England also has private schools and home education; legally, parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.
Education in Scotland is provided in state schools, private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. Mandatory education in Scotland begins for children in Primary 1 (P1) at primary school and ends in Fourth Year (S4) at secondary school. Overall accountability and control of state–education in Scotland rests with the Scottish Government, and is overseen by its executive agency, Education Scotland, with additional responsibility for nursery schools being the joint responsibility of both Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. Scotland's private schools are overseen by the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Children in Scotland sit mandatory National Standardised Assessments in Primary 1 (P1), Primary 4 (P4), Primary 7 (P7) at the end of primary school, and Third Year (S3) in secondary school, which assist in monitoring children's progress and providing diagnostic data information to support teachers' professional judgement.
The Kings of Wessex Academy, formerly known as the Kings of Wessex School, is a coeducational secondary school located in Cheddar, Somerset, England. As of 2015, it had 1,176 students aged 13 to 18, of all genders and all ability levels including 333 in the sixth form. In November 2016, the academy became part of the Wessex Learning Trust which incorporated eight academies from the surrounding area. Kings is a Church of England school.
Landau Forte College Derby is an academy in Derby, England. As a secondary school and sixth form, it serves students aged 11–19 from the City of Derby and surrounding areas.
Lincolnshire is one of the few counties within the UK that still uses the eleven-plus to decide who may attend grammar school, in common with Buckinghamshire and Kent.
Backwell School is a secondary academy school in Backwell, Bristol, Somerset, England. It was considered to be one of the best-performing state schools in England, leading results at both GCSE and A level in the area and consistently being rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted. It has now been rated "Good" by Ofsted.
Outwood Grange Academy is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Outwood, near Wakefield, England. It has a mixed intake of both boys and girls ages 11–18, and has over 2,100 pupils on roll with a comprehensive admissions policy.
Grove Academy is an 11–18 mixed secondary school in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland.
Kyle Academy is a non-denominational secondary school in Ayr, serving the south east of Ayr in South Ayrshire. The roll of Kyle Academy school in 2021–2022 was 821 with a staffing complement equivalent to 58 full time teachers. The current head teacher of Kyle Academy is Mary Byrne who took over the position of head teacher from Lyndsay McRoberts, who was also joint head teacher of nearby Ayr Academy.
Queen Margaret Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary school in the south of Ayr in southwest Scotland. Established in 1856 as St. Margaret's School, Queen Margaret Academy was formed in 1966 and became a state-run school overseen by South Ayrshire Council. Queen Margaret Academy takes Catholic children aged 11 to 18 from the whole of South Ayrshire and parts of East Ayrshire.
The Barlow RC High School is a comprehensive school in Didsbury, Manchester, England.
Bishopbriggs Academy is a secondary school in the town of Bishopbriggs, Scotland, in the district of East Dunbartonshire. Bishopbriggs Academy is a non-denominational, co-educational, comprehensive school taking pupils from S1 to S6. It is currently one of two secondary schools in Bishopbriggs, along with Turnbull High School at Brackenbrae.
St. Ninian's High School is a Roman Catholic co-educational comprehensive secondary school, located in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal.
Bearsden Academy is a non-denominational, state secondary school in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
Walney School is a secondary school on Walney Island in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. As a result of the Education Act 1944, Walney Island needed to have its own secondary school. Today (2020) it is an 11 – 16 Academy with approximately 585 students currently on roll.
Gleniffer High School is a Scottish state state school school located in Paisley for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. Since 1988, Gleniffer has been located in Paisley's Foxbar district, close to the Gleniffer Braes in the west coast of Scotland, south of Glasgow.
St George's Academy is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school based in the English market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, with a satellite school at nearby Ruskington.
Lochend Community High School is a non-denominational, coeducational, state secondary school in the Easterhouse area of Glasgow. The school is within the local authority of Glasgow City Council.
St Andrew's Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary school in Hawkhead, Paisley, Scotland. The school was opened in 1990, with its importance growing in 2001 when St Mirin's and St Margaret's High School closed. New buildings were completed in 2006. It has eight feeder primary schools in the town. The current headteacher is Mr Kevin Henry.
Gryffe High School is a comprehensive state secondary school in Houston, Renfrewshire. Founded in 1980 and subsequently expanded, the school had a roll of 943 pupils in November 2019.
