Glaitness School, Orkney
Glaitness School is a primary school for pupils in Orkney.
- Attendance
- 94%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Glaitness School in detail
School in Scotland
Glaitness 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.
Glaitness School has a pre-school (nursery) class.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 218 pupils, an average class size of 16.8 and 12.1 pupils per teacher.
25% of P6-P7 pupils are registered for free school meals and 35% of pupils have an additional support need recorded.
Attendance was 94% in 2024/25, and 19.3% 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 satisfactory (B); the school was 92% full.
Glaitness School in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball and badminton.
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Glaitness School are Papdale Primary School (0.7 miles) and Shapinsay Community School (4.8 miles).
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Glaitness School.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Glaitness School (at), 50 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 Glaitness School in September 2023.
- 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessmentgood
- 3.2 Securing children’s progressgood
HMIE grades on a six-point scale: unsatisfactory, weak, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent.
Source: HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland), Open Government Licence.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Glaitness School
Getting There
Ferry Terminals
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 1
- 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: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
2 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 Orkney Islands is 0 (the median across 21 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
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Glaitness School
Questions parents ask about Glaitness School
When was Glaitness School last inspected?
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of Glaitness School in September 2023. Inspectors evaluated learning, teaching and assessment as good and securing children’s progress as good, on a six-point scale from unsatisfactory to excellent.
What is the catchment area for Glaitness School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Glaitness 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 Orkney Islands. Orkney Islands publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Glaitness School?
If you live in Glaitness School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and Orkney Islands will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to Orkney Islands - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Glaitness School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 2 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 Orkney Islands is 0 (the median across 21 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Glaitness School?
Glaitness School is at Kirkwall, Orkney, Orkney, KW15 1RP.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)