Buchanan High, Coatbridge
Buchanan High is a special school for pupils in Coatbridge.
- Attendance
- 83.5%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Buchanan High in detail
School in Scotland
Buchanan High is a local authority school in Scotland. Scottish schools are inspected by Education Scotland rather than Ofsted, and Scotland does not publish school-by-school exam league tables.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 151 pupils and 5.8 pupils per teacher.
100% of pupils have an additional support need recorded.
Attendance was 83.5% in 2024/25, and 52% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
The 2026 school estate survey rated its buildings' condition as good (A) and their suitability for teaching as good (A).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Buchanan High are Pentland School (under 0.1 miles), Drumpark Primary School (1 mile), Portland High School (1.2 miles) and Mavisbank School (2.5 miles).
Pentland SchoolDrumpark Primary SchoolPortland High SchoolMavisbank School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Blairhill Rail Station, about 530 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Mosspark Road (after), 80 metres away.
Sources: Scottish Government school statistics: pupil census, attendance and absence, school estate, leaver destinations (OGL); NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
Scottish GovernmentInspection
Schools in Scotland are inspected by Education Scotland, not Ofsted. Find Buchanan High's reports on the inspectorate's website.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Buchanan High
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 6
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 3 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in North Lanarkshire is 5 (the median across 153 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Questions parents ask about Buchanan High
What is the catchment area for Buchanan High?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Buchanan High is no exception: children living in its zone are normally given a place there automatically. Families who want a different school make a placing request to North Lanarkshire. North Lanarkshire publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Buchanan High?
If you live in Buchanan High's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and North Lanarkshire will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to North Lanarkshire - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Buchanan High?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 3 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in North Lanarkshire is 5 (the median across 153 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Buchanan High?
Buchanan High is at 67 Townhead Road, Coatbridge, Coatbridge, ML5 2HT.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)