Whalsay School, SHETLAND
Whalsay School is an all-through school for pupils in Shetland.
- Attendance
- 89.9%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Whalsay School in detail
School in Scotland
Whalsay 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.
Whalsay School has a pre-school (nursery) class.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 67 pupils and 7.3 pupils per teacher.
48% 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 89.9% in 2024/25, and 38.3% 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 40% full.
Source: Scottish Government school statistics: pupil census, attendance and absence, school estate, leaver destinations (OGL)
Key Information
Scottish GovernmentInspection
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of Whalsay 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 Whalsay School
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 Shetland Islands is 0 (the median across 27 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 Whalsay School
When was Whalsay School last inspected?
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of Whalsay School in February 2022.
What is the catchment area for Whalsay School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Whalsay 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 Shetland Islands. Shetland Islands publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Whalsay School?
If you live in Whalsay School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and Shetland Islands will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to Shetland Islands - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Whalsay 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 Shetland Islands is 0 (the median across 27 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Whalsay School?
Whalsay School is at Symbister, Whalsay, SHETLAND, SHETLAND, ZE2 9AQ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)