North Ayrshire

59 schools · 49 primary · 8 secondary

Browse all schools by town →Official council website ↗

Schools

16,643

Pupils

1,291

Teachers (FTE)

Open jobs

North Ayrshire is one of Scotland's 33 local authorities (councils), responsible for 59 state schools — 49 primary, 8 secondary and 1 special, educating around 16,643 pupils with 1,291 full-time-equivalent teachers. In 2024-25, North Ayrshire spent around £8,668 per primary pupil and £10,278 per secondary pupil — above the Scotland averages of £7,606 and £9,338. In 2024-25, 95.7% of school leavers went on to a positive destination (in line with the Scotland average of 95.7%), and 39.8% left with five or more Highers (Scotland average 40.8%). Schools in North 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 North Ayrshire

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

£8,668

per primary pupil

▲ 14%vs Scotland (£7,606)

£10,278

per secondary pupil

▲ 10%vs Scotland (£9,338)

£12,183

per pre-school place

▲ 1%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 North Ayrshire

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

95.7%

Positive destinations

—at Scotland avg

64.5%

5+ at National 5

▼ 4.1 ptsvs Scotland (68.6%)

39.8%

5+ Highers

▼ 1 ptsvs Scotland (40.8%)

68.2%

Primary literacy

▼ 6.3 ptsvs Scotland (74.5%)

73.9%

Primary numeracy

▼ 6.4 ptsvs Scotland (80.3%)

89.6%

Attendance rate

▼ 1.4 ptsvs Scotland (91%)

78%

Parents satisfied

▲ 9 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.