Primary education

In Scotland, children who are aged four years by 29th February can start primary school in the August of the same year. Parents/carers can defer entry to primary school if their child’s fifth birthday falls between November to February after the August start, although there is variation between local authorities. Therefore, throughout an academic year, a primary one class could have children ranging in age from four and a half years to six years. Children in Scotland attend primary school for seven years (P1 to P7) before progressing to secondary school.

Number of primary schools 

In 2023, there were 1,988 publicly funded primary schools across Scotland.

In Glasgow there were 142 Primary schools in 2023: 61% were non-denominational (i.e. a school based on Christian beliefs but people of any religion can attend) and 39% were Roman Catholic. Inverclyde (45%) and West Dunbartonshire (41%) had the highest proportion of Roman Catholic Primary schools compared to any other local authority.

Primary school population 

 In 2023, there were 384,725 pupils enrolled in primary schools across Scotland. 

Glasgow had the highest number of primary pupils (40,337) enrolled in primary schools compared to any other local authority, reflecting the population density of the city. The number of pupils in Glasgow has increased slightly by 5% from 2006 to 2023.

Class sizes

Average class sizes across all primary stages in Scotland was 23.2 pupils. The average class size in primary school in Glasgow was slightly higher than the national average at 24.3. East Renfrewshire, had the highest average class sizes of 25.9 pupils. While Na h-Eileanan Siar had the lowest average class sizes of 16.9 pupils, also reflecting the relatively low population density of the islands. 

Pupil profile 

Ethnicity 

Across Scotland, children who identified as white British made up more than three quarters (78%) of the primary school population. This was followed by children who identified as minority ethnic (12%), and 'White and Other' (7%). A small proportion (3%) were listed as 'not known' or 'not disclosed'.

Glasgow had the highest proportion of minority ethnic primary pupils (29%) followed by Aberdeen (27%), while Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetlands and the Orkney Islands had the lowest proportion (3%).

English as additional language 

Across Scotland 89% of pupils had English as their first language, with variation by local authorities; 73% of primary pupils from Glasgow’s first language is English, compared to 99% from Inverclyde and East Ayrshire. Across Scotland, 2% of primary pupils were new to the English language. Glasgow (6%) and Aberdeen (5%) had the highest proportion of pupils new to English, while Argyll and Bute and South Ayrshire had the lowest proportion of pupils (0.5%). 

New to English information was not recorded for East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands.

Additional Support Needs 

Some children require support in addition to, or different from, that which is received by children the same age to ensure they benefit from education. Additional Support Needs (ASN) can be due to disability or health, learning environment, family circumstances, and social and emotional factors; it can be short or long term; or simply be help a pupil needs to get them through a difficult period.

More than one quarter (30%) of primary school pupils across Scotland had additional support needs (ASN). North Lanarkshire had the smallest proportion of primary pupils with ASN (10%) and Aberdeenshire had the highest (46%). Glasgow had 34% of pupils across its primary schools with ASN.

Of the 13,578 primary pupils in Glasgow with Additional Support Needs, over half (61%) were accessing support because they had English as an additional language; 11% because of autism spectrum disorder, and 10% were accessing support because of a social, emotional or behavioural difficulty. The chart below shows the total number that this relates to.

Financial assistance 

Free school lunch 

In Scotland, all primary school children from P1 to P5 who are attending local authority-run schools are entitled to a free school lunch during term-time. Children in P6 and P7 are entitled to free school meals if their parents/carers are in receipt of certain benefits or in instances of financial hardship (i.e. having no recourse to public funds, waiting on first Universal Credit payment). Parents/carers whose children receive free school meals can also apply for support during the six school holidays.  

Across Scotland, one fifth of pupils in P6 and P7 (21%) were in receipt of free school meals. Glasgow had the highest proportion of P6 (40%) and P7 pupils (41%) receiving free school meals, at rates which were almost twice as high as the national average. East Renfrewshire had the lowest proportion of P6 (9%) and P7 (7%) pupils receiving free school meals. 

Free school breakfast 

Children who are entitled to free school lunches are also entitled to free breakfast at school every day. Although this is not a national policy and there is likely to be variation across local authorities. Primary schools in Glasgow offer a supervised breakfast service every morning on school days starting at 8.15am. Children have a choice of cereal, toast, and fruit prior to the start of the school day. While all children can attend the breakfast service, children who are entitled to free school lunches will receive this breakfast free, otherwise there is a charge of £2 per day. 
Data is not routinely collected on uptake of free school breakfast in Glasgow or across Scotland. 

School Clothing Grant 

In Scotland, parents/carers in receipt of certain benefits can apply for the School Clothing Grant to help with the cost of the school uniform. While there is some local variation in who can apply and how much is paid, every family who is entitled can receive £120 per child of primary-school age, per year. This is paid via cash into a bank account.  
In 2023, Glasgow had the highest proportion of children in low income families, subsequently, the highest share of Grant Aided Expenditure for the School Clothing Grant (17%) compared to any other local authority in Scotland.

Best Start Grant 

The Best Start Grant - School Age Payment, offers financial support to families to help with the cost of a child starting Primary 1. All eligible families are entitled to a one-off payment of £314.45 per child which is paid via cash into a bank account. 
In the period December 2018 to November 2022, 103,410 applications were submitted, across Scotland, for the School Age Payment. Of these, three quarters (70%) of applications were authorised and one quarter (27%) were denied. 
In the same period, there were 16,680 applications in Glasgow for the School Age Payment, totalling over £3 million, which although it was the highest across all local authorities, is reflective of the population density of the city.  

Notes 

Publicly-funded schools include both local authority schools (which are financed and run by the local authority) and grant-aided schools (which are financed directly by the Scottish Government but are independent from local authorities).

School Clothing Grant data is available from Scottish Government Local Government Finance - Green Book: 2023-24.

Best Start Grant data is available from Scottish Government Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods 2023.

The following data is not available at a local authority level: deprivation, asylum and refugee status, and disability. 

This page was updated in January 2025.