Mary Russell School, PAISLEY
Mary Russell School is a special school for pupils in Paisley.
- Attendance
- 88.3%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Mary Russell School in detail
School in Scotland
Mary Russell 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.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 202 pupils and 3.9 pupils per teacher.
100% of pupils have an additional support need recorded.
36% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 13% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 88.3% in 2024/25, and 33.7% 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).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Mary Russell School are Linburn Academy (1.6 miles), Langlands Primary School (1.8 miles), Howford Primary School (2 miles) and Kibble Education and Care Centre (2.1 miles).
Linburn AcademyLanglands Primary SchoolHowford Primary SchoolKibble Education and Care Centre
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Hawkhead Rail Station, about 440 metres away (roughly a 6-minute walk).
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Hawkhead Cemetery (at), 40 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 Mary Russell School's reports on the inspectorate's website.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Mary Russell School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 5
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 5 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 2 serious and 2 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
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 Renfrewshire is 4 (the median across 69 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 Mary Russell School
What is the catchment area for Mary Russell School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Mary Russell 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 Renfrewshire. Renfrewshire publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Mary Russell School?
If you live in Mary Russell School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and Renfrewshire will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to Renfrewshire - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Mary Russell School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 5 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 2 serious and 2 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 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 Renfrewshire is 4 (the median across 69 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Mary Russell School?
Mary Russell School is at Hawkhead Road, PAISLEY, PAISLEY, PA2 7BE.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)