East Ayrshire

54 schools · 40 primary · 7 secondary

Browse all schools by town →Official council website ↗

Schools

15,772

Pupils

1,149

Teachers (FTE)

Open jobs

East Ayrshire is one of Scotland's 33 local authorities (councils), responsible for 54 state schools — 40 primary, 7 secondary and 7 special, educating around 15,772 pupils with 1,149 full-time-equivalent teachers. In 2024-25, East Ayrshire spent around £7,634 per primary pupil and £9,071 per secondary pupil — above the Scotland averages of £7,606 and £9,338. In 2024-25, 93.3% of school leavers went on to a positive destination (below the Scotland average of 95.7%), and 30% left with five or more Highers (Scotland average 40.8%). Schools in East Ayrshire are inspected by Education Scotland on a six-point scale. Browse every school by town, view pupil and staffing data, or compare schools side by side.

Education spending in East Ayrshire

Gross council expenditure per pupil/place, shown against the Scotland average (2024-25).

£7,634

per primary pupil

—at Scotland avg

£9,071

per secondary pupil

▼ 3%vs Scotland (£9,338)

£11,869

per pre-school place

▼ 2%vs Scotland (£12,055)

Source: Local Government Benchmarking Framework (Improvement Service), 2024-25, under the Open Government Licence. A higher figure is typical of rural and island councils, where smaller schools cost more per pupil to run — it does not by itself mean better-resourced classrooms.

School outcomes in East Ayrshire

How this council's schools compare to the Scotland average (2024-25). Higher is better.

93.3%

Positive destinations

▼ 2.4 ptsvs Scotland (95.7%)

60.6%

5+ at National 5

▼ 8 ptsvs Scotland (68.6%)

30%

5+ Highers

▼ 10.8 ptsvs Scotland (40.8%)

77%

Primary literacy

▲ 2.5 ptsvs Scotland (74.5%)

81.5%

Primary numeracy

▲ 1.2 ptsvs Scotland (80.3%)

89.1%

Attendance rate

▼ 1.9 ptsvs Scotland (91%)

67.7%

Parents satisfied

▼ 1.3 ptsvs Scotland (69%)

Source: Local Government Benchmarking Framework (Improvement Service), 2024-25, under the Open Government Licence. Outcomes are council-wide averages and reflect each school's intake and catchment, not just its teaching.