Secondary education

In Scotland, young people attend secondary school for six years. The secondary years S1-S4 are mandatory, and secondary years S5 and S6 are optional. Young people start secondary school in August and are typically aged 12 years, but this is dependent on what age they started primary school. 

Number of secondary schools 

In 2022, there were 358 publicly-funded secondary schools in Scotland with 309,133 pupils enrolled.

In 2023, there were 361 publicly-funded secondary schools across Scotland.

In Glasgow there were 30 secondary schools which was the highest number of secondary schools compared to all other local authorities. Two thirds (63%) of secondary schools across the city were non-denominational and 37% were Roman Catholic. Inverclyde had the highest proportion of Roman Catholic schools compared to any other local authority (three schools, representing 50% of secondary schools).

Secondary school population

In 2023, there were 313,061 pupils enrolled in secondary schools across Scotland. Glasgow had the highest number of secondary pupils (29,957) enrolled in secondary 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 2005 to 2023.

Pupil profile 

Ethnicity 

Across Scotland, a large majority (82%) of young people enrolled at secondary school identified as 'White British'. This was followed by young people who identified as 'Minority Ethnic' (10%) and 'White Other' (6%). A small proportion (2%) were listed as 'not known' or 'not disclosed'.

Glasgow had the highest proportion of minority ethnic secondary pupils (26%) and Aberdeen City had the highest proportion of 'White Other' pupils (15%). Diversity in the secondary school population was lowest in Clackmannanshire, East Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Moray, Na h-Eileanan Siar, North Ayrshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire which all had 90% or over 'White British' pupils.   

English as additional language 

Across Scotland, 89% of pupils' first language was English. Glasgow had the lowest percentage of pupils with English as their first language with 71%.

Across Scotland, 1% of secondary pupils were new to the English language. Around a third of all local authorities (12), were similar to Scotland showing 1% of secondary pupils were new to the English language, but Clackmannanshire had the highest proportion of secondary pupils who were new to the English language (37%) equating to 40 pupils in a small rural area. In Renfrewshire, a more densely populated area, 8% (833) were new to the English language.

This information was not recorded for nine local authority areas presumably due to low population numbers. 

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 emotional factors; it can be short or long term; or to help a pupil through a difficult period. 

Across Scotland, 43% of secondary pupils were recorded as having additional support needs. North Lanarkshire had the smallest proportion of secondary pupils with ASN (27%) and Orkney Islands had the highest (55%) shortly followed by Aberdeenshire (54%).  

In Glasgow, half (51%) of secondary pupils had ASN. Of these, the three key reasons for additional support were:

• English was an additional language (43%).
• Social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (19%).
• Dyslexia (11%). 

Financial assistance 

Free school meals 

Young people whose parents are in receipt of certain benefits or are experiencing financial hardship, are entitled to free school meals throughout secondary school. Young people aged 16-18 years who receive certain benefits in their own right, are also entitled to free school meals. There is also support available during the six school holidays for young people entitled to free school meals. 

Across Scotland, the proportion of secondary school pupils registered for free school meals was higher in the lower stages (S1-S4) compared to the higher stages (S5-S6). Similar trends were seen in Glasgow.

Overall, the proportion of secondary pupils registered for free school meals in Glasgow was double or treble the national average, depending on stage. In 2023, around 43% of S1-S4 pupils in Glasgow secondary schools were registered for free school meals, respectively. This compares to a national average of 21% for S1 pupils and of around 20% for S2-S4 pupils. 

Free school meal registrations in Glasgow was also higher among S5 and S6 pupils compared to the national average. In 2023, 39% of S5 pupils in Glasgow were registered for free school meals, compared to national average of 16%; and 33% of S6 pupils in Glasgow were registered for free school meals compared to national average of 12%.

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).

Data is from the 2023 Annual School Pupil Census, published by Scottish Government in December 2023. 

There is no data for average class sizes in Secondary schools. 

This page was updated in January 2025.