The primary school years are an important time in a child’s education.
Young people will hit many of their educational, physical, social and emotional milestones alike during this period. But some will need a little more support and encouragement than others to really flourish, which is why it is essential they attend a school that can set them up to succeed moving forwards.
Using Scottish education statistics, Scotland’s Data on a Map publishes annual league tables for council areas across the country, rating how well the country’s state primary schools have performed each year. Schools are ranked using ACEL (or Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels) data. This shows the percentage of pupils across a range of different year groups who have achieved the expected levels in important school skills; literacy, numeracy, and speaking and listening.
Of the 133 state-funded primary schools in the Fife Council area, 52 of them had more than 80% of their children hit those targets. While a number of schools with very small class sizes were not included in the data, many smaller village and community schools still managed to shine in the upper echelons of the rankings. But equally, larger schools in centres like St Andrews and Dunfermline - often with more students - have managed to excel.
Here were the 14 primary schools from across the Fife area that earned the top spots, with more than 90% of their children hitting key targets:

1. Greyfriars RC Primary School
Topping the list is Greyfriars, a Catholic primary school in St Andrews. In the 2022/23 school year, 95% of its pupils met target levels in listening and talking skills, numeracy, reading, and writing. | Google

2. North Queensferry Primary School
Sharing first place is North Queensferry Primary, in the coastal village of North Queensferry. In the 2022/23 school year, it too had 95% of its pupils meet target levels in listening and talking skills, numeracy, reading, and writing. | Google

3. Aberdour Primary School
This primary school is in the village of Aberdour, on Fife’s south coast. In the 2022/23 school year, some 92.5% of its pupils met target levels in listening and talking skills, numeracy, reading, and writing. | Google

4. Coaltown Of Balgonie Primary School
This is another village primary school in southern Fife’s Coaltown of Balgonie, near Glenrothes. In the 2022/23 school year, it too had about 92.5% of its pupils meet the target levels in listening and talking skills, numeracy, reading, and writing. | Google