What do we know about the state of Scotland’s school buildings?
In 2007, under two-thirds of schools were in a ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ condition – this year that figure is 92%, although the number receiving the government’s top rating peaked in 2021
Today the Scottish government is celebrating a record number of pupils in Scotland being taught in schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition.
Official figures show that a record 91.7 per cent of school buildings, with a total of 647,773 pupils, are in a “good” or “satisfactory” condition.
This is an increase of 29 percentage points since April 2007.
However, the school estate statistics for 2024 also show that the number rated “good” - the top rating for a school building’s condition - peaked in 2021 at 716.
Now, over 70 fewer schools are in this category: in 2024, 644 schools were rated “good”, down from 681 in 2023.
Meanwhile, while the number of schools rated “bad” fell to just one school in 2021, by this year that figure has risen to six schools. Therefore, in 2024, 4,292 pupils were taught in schools rated “bad” - the highest number since 2014.
The “bad” rating for school condition is the worst possible and is defined as “economic life expired and/or risk of failure”.
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth said that a record number of schools were in a “good” or “satisfactory” condition and the government was “determined to deliver high-quality learning environments for all pupils in Scotland”.
She added that construction would begin on a further eight school building projects over the next year.
“This means that by the end of 2027-28, Scotland will have seen 47 modern, state-of-the-art school buildings open, thanks to our investment,” she said.
