Cardenden Primary School, LOCHGELLY
Cardenden Primary School is a primary school for pupils in Lochgelly.
- Attendance
- 90.9%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Cardenden Primary School in detail
School in Scotland
Cardenden Primary School 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.
Cardenden Primary School has a pre-school (nursery) class.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 149 pupils, an average class size of 21.3 and 13.3 pupils per teacher.
35% of P6-P7 pupils are registered for free school meals, 47% of pupils have an additional support need recorded and 9% speak English as an additional language.
30% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 0% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 90.9% in 2024/25, and 36% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
The 2026 school estate survey rated its buildings' condition as satisfactory (B) and their suitability for teaching as good (A); the school was 69% full.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Cardenden Primary School are Denend Primary School (0.3 miles), St Ninian's R C Primary School (0.7 miles), Lochgelly South Primary School (2.2 miles) and St Patrick's R C Primary School (2.3 miles).
Denend Primary SchoolSt Ninian's R C Primary SchoolLochgelly South Primary SchoolSt Patrick's R C Primary School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Cardenden Rail Station, about 340 metres away (roughly a 4-minute walk).
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Dundonald Park (opposite), 260 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
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of Cardenden Primary School in April 2025.
Source: HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland), Open Government Licence.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Cardenden Primary School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt.
0 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 Fife is 2 (the median across 160 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 Cardenden Primary School
When was Cardenden Primary School last inspected?
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of Cardenden Primary School in April 2025.
What is the catchment area for Cardenden Primary School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Cardenden Primary School 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 Fife. Fife publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Cardenden Primary School?
If you live in Cardenden Primary School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and Fife will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to Fife - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Cardenden Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt. 0 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 Fife is 2 (the median across 160 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Cardenden Primary School?
Cardenden Primary School is at Carden Castle Avenue, Cardenden, LOCHGELLY, LOCHGELLY, KY5 0EW.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)