Castlebay School, Barra
Castlebay School is an all-through school for pupils in Barra.
- Attendance
- 91.9%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Castlebay School in detail
School in Scotland
Castlebay 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.
Castlebay School offers Gaelic-medium education and has a pre-school (nursery) class.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 90 pupils and 4.8 pupils per teacher.
26% of pupils have an additional support need recorded.
0% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 0% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 91.9% in 2024/25, and 30.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
The 2026 school estate survey rated its buildings' condition as poor (C) and their suitability for teaching as bad (D); the school was 39% full.
100% of pupils who left in 2023/24 went on to a positive destination - further or higher education, training, work or volunteering, against 100% for its "virtual comparator", a matched group of pupils with similar backgrounds from across Scotland.
Castlebay School in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, basketball, multi-sports, running, choir, coding, art, photography, film and Duke of Edinburgh.
Source: The school's own website
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Castlebay School.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Co-Op (at), 20 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 Castlebay School in February 2022.
Source: HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland), Open Government Licence.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Castlebay School
Getting There
Ferry Terminals
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
No injury road collisions were reported to the police within 500 m of the school's mapped location in 2021 to 2025.
The typical figure for schools in Na h-Eileanan Siar is 0 (the median across 24 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 Castlebay School
When was Castlebay School last inspected?
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of Castlebay School in February 2022.
What is the catchment area for Castlebay School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Castlebay 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 Na h-Eileanan Siar. Na h-Eileanan Siar publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Castlebay School?
If you live in Castlebay School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and Na h-Eileanan Siar will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to Na h-Eileanan Siar - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Castlebay School?
No injury road collisions were reported to the police within 500 m of the school's mapped location in 2021 to 2025. The typical figure for schools in Na h-Eileanan Siar is 0 (the median across 24 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Castlebay School?
Castlebay School is at Castlebay, Barra, Barra, HS9 5XD.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)