Shortlees Primary School, Kilmarnock
Shortlees Primary School is a primary school for pupils in Kilmarnock.
- Attendance
- 87.5%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Shortlees Primary School in detail
School in Scotland
Shortlees 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.
Shortlees Primary School has a pre-school (nursery) class.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 323 pupils, an average class size of 23.1 and 15.2 pupils per teacher.
100% of P6-P7 pupils are registered for free school meals, 42% of pupils have an additional support need recorded and 7% speak English as an additional language.
92% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 0% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 87.5% in 2024/25, and 43.2% 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); the school was 71% full.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Shortlees Primary School are Whatriggs Primary School (0.8 miles), Gargieston Primary School (1.4 miles), Loanhead Primary School (1.6 miles) and Annanhill Primary School (1.7 miles).
Whatriggs Primary SchoolGargieston Primary SchoolLoanhead Primary SchoolAnnanhill Primary School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Kilmarnock Rail Station, about 1.9 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Blacksyke Avenue (opposite), 100 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 Shortlees Primary School in January 2025.
- 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessmentgood
- 3.2 Raising attainment and achievementgood
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 Shortlees Primary School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 7
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 5 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot.
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 East Ayrshire is 2 (the median across 55 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
Shortlees Primary School
Questions parents ask about Shortlees Primary School
When was Shortlees Primary School last inspected?
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of Shortlees Primary School in January 2025. Inspectors evaluated learning, teaching and assessment as good and raising attainment and achievement as good, on a six-point scale from unsatisfactory to excellent.
What is the catchment area for Shortlees Primary School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Shortlees 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 East Ayrshire. East Ayrshire publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Shortlees Primary School?
If you live in Shortlees Primary School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and East Ayrshire will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to East Ayrshire - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Shortlees Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 5 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot. 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 East Ayrshire is 2 (the median across 55 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Shortlees Primary School?
Shortlees Primary School is at Blacksyke Avenue, Kilmarnock, Kilmarnock, KA1 4SR.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)