Highland pupils gain ground — but the data has limits

demoduck.co.uk editorial team 2026-08-31 19:06 2 min read

Students sitting at a wooden table using Dell laptops for a classroom research task.

By the Demoduck editorial desk | Published 31 August 2026

Almost three in 10 Highland S6 pupils achieved at least three Higher awards at grades A–C, according to Highland Council’s initial analysis of this year’s results. The proportion reached 29.1%, a reported rise of 7.1 percentage points from 2024/25.

The figures point to gains in several measures, particularly for S6 pupils, but they are not a complete assessment of attainment across Highland. Cohort sizes, school-level results and comparisons with other council areas were not supplied.

The clearest gains are among S6 pupils

Attainment measure	Result and comparison
S6: three or more Highers at A–C	29.1%, up 7.1 points from 2024/25
S5: five Highers at A–C	15.7%, down from 15.9% in 2025 but above 13.6% in 2024
S4: five or more awards at A–C	41.9%; the council reported an increase but gave no previous figure
Most-deprived S4 group: five National 5 awards at A–C	20.2%, compared with 20.1% in 2025 and 18.6% in 2024
Most-deprived S6 group: at least one Higher at A–C	24.6%, up from 18% in 2025
Most-deprived S6 group: three or more Highers at A–C	9.1%, up from 3.8% in 2025

The changes for pupils in Quintile 1, the group covering Highland’s most deprived areas, are encouraging. However, percentages alone do not show how many pupils were involved or whether the gains were consistent between schools.

Thurso example lacks school-level figures

Thurso High School head teacher Hannah Flavell presented work credited with improving educational outcomes. The published account did not identify the individual measures or provide results for the school, so it offers an example of the council’s approach rather than separate quantitative evidence.

Council strategy and measured results remain distinct

Highland Council links the progress to its Education and Learning Improvement Plan and Raising Attainment and Achievement Strategy. Its actions include closer support for school leaders, sharing effective practice and a Raising Attainment Board intended to improve data monitoring and consistency.

Education Committee chair John Finlayson said the early figures showed the region was moving in the right direction. Whether the strategy caused the changes cannot be established from this initial release; a fuller analysis of senior-phase attainment is due before the committee in November.

Source: Highland Council

Context & actions About this article

Source check Source trail

The figures, comparisons and next reporting date were checked against Highland Council’s published account.

Checks

Separated reported attainment results from the council’s claims about its improvement stra...
Retained the supplied year-on-year comparisons without estimating missing figures.
Flagged the absence of cohort sizes, school-level data and regional benchmarks.
Confirmed that fuller senior-phase analysis is scheduled for November 2026.

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