Edinburgh City

124 schools · 91 primary · 23 secondary

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124

Schools

53,918

Pupils

3,586

Teachers (FTE)

Open jobs

Edinburgh City is one of Scotland's 33 local authorities (councils), responsible for 124 state schools — 91 primary, 23 secondary and 10 special, educating around 53,918 pupils with 3,586 full-time-equivalent teachers. In 2024-25, Edinburgh City spent around £6,859 per primary pupil and £8,491 per secondary pupil — below the Scotland averages of £7,606 and £9,338. In 2024-25, 96.7% of school leavers went on to a positive destination (above the Scotland average of 95.7%), and 49.7% left with five or more Highers (Scotland average 40.8%). Schools in Edinburgh City 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 Edinburgh City

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

£6,859

per primary pupil

▼ 10%vs Scotland (£7,606)

£8,491

per secondary pupil

▼ 9%vs Scotland (£9,338)

£12,768

per pre-school place

▲ 6%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 Edinburgh City

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

96.7%

Positive destinations

▲ 1 ptsvs Scotland (95.7%)

73.5%

5+ at National 5

▲ 4.9 ptsvs Scotland (68.6%)

49.7%

5+ Highers

▲ 8.9 ptsvs Scotland (40.8%)

80.4%

Primary literacy

▲ 5.9 ptsvs Scotland (74.5%)

84.3%

Primary numeracy

▲ 4 ptsvs Scotland (80.3%)

92.1%

Attendance rate

▲ 1.1 ptsvs Scotland (91%)

71.7%

Parents satisfied

▲ 2.7 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.