Bishopbriggs Academy in East Dunbartonshire is a top-rated school in Scotland. A growing list of parents want to send their kids to the co-educational high school, so the Bishopbriggs Academy catchment area is strictly controlled by the council. Find out more info about the school including the ranking, term dates, curriculum, and more in our helpful guide for current and prospective pupils/ parents.

What Rank is Bishopbriggs Academy?

Bishopbriggs Academy is one of the best secondary schools in Scotland, consistently placing 10th over the past 5 years. The East Dunbartonshire school didn’t always have such a high ranking, having only broken into the national top 50 in 2011.

The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide awarded Bishopbriggs Academy Scottish State Secondary School of the Decade in 2022 in recognition of its amazing turnaround.

Bishopbriggs Academy Term Dates/ Holidays 2026 -2027

Bishopbriggs Academy term dates run the same time as other high schools, including Boclair and Douglas Academy. Each follows the East Dunbartonshire Council’s school holiday schedule.

Bishopbriggs Academy Curriculum

Bishopbriggs Academy focuses on preparing for SQA exams early, overseen by Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

S1 to S3

Pupils follow a general education curriculum with English, maths, and the sciences, biology, physics, and chemistry at the forefront. French and Spanish are introduced in S1 and S2, so students have the basics covered before picking their chosen language in S3 to intensify the learning.

Pupils in S3 at Bishopbriggs Academy will study 8 subjects, and early parts of the SQA National 5 content will be introduced. Preparing the Bishopbriggs Academy students for intensive exams in S4.

S4

Bishopbriggs Academy implements a 3-year academic progression curriculum to prepare pupils for university entry. Only 7 SQA National Qualification subjects will be studied compared to the 8 in S3. Each subject will be studied for 4 periods per week.

Pupils will be allocated to National 4 or 5 in S4 after being assessed throughout third year. N5 requires students to sit external SQA exams and submit portfolios of coursework. N4 pupils will be assessed internally through exams and coursework.

S5

S5 is focused on five Highers with intensive study and 6 periods per week for each. The majority of pupils at this stage will attempt five SQA Highers within a single exam diet. Bishopbriggs Academy is ranked in the top ten due to the high success rate of students attaining the five Highers.

S6

Bishopbriggs Academy will implement a structure where students should study independently to prepare for university. Advanced Highers with university-specific courses will be available. STEM fields, English, Modern Languages, etc., will be the main subjects for students looking to progress to further study.

Bishopbriggs Academy Catchment Area

Bishopbriggs Academy catchment area is strictly enforced by East Dunbartonshire Council due to the school ranking as one of the best high schools in Scotland. With many parents in the Greater Glasgow area hoping to get a place at the school, the boundaries need to be strictly followed in admissions.

To guarantee a place at Bishopbriggs Academy, pupils should live in the Bishopbriggs area within the catchment zone. Parents must show proof of residence when applying.

Placing requests for students living outside the Bishopbriggs Academy catchment zone have almost a zero percent chance of gaining a place.

Feeder Primary Schools

Bishopbriggs Academy feeder schools consist of four local primary schools – Balmuildy, Meadowburn, Thomas Muir, and Wester Cleddens.

• Balmuidy Primary: The catchment area covers Balmuidy Road and the surrounding areas, Stirling Drive, and the River Kelvin boundary line.
• Meadowburn Primary: Residential areas around Lendale Lane, the commuter areas near the main canal line, and the Gaelic Medium Education primary provision stream.
• Thomas Muir: Covers the Woodhill area in the centre with easy access to the school using the railway.
• Wester Cleddens Primary: The residential areas directly across from Bishopbriggs Academy fall under the Wester Cleddens catchment area. Going north towards the Glasgow City Council boundary.

Catchment Overlaps

Bishopbriggs is a combination of two catchment areas – Bishopbriggs Academy and Turnbull High School. The latter is a Roman Catholic school, and families living in the same streets follow different primary school catchment areas. St. Helen’s, St Matthew’s, and St Nicholas Primary are feeder schools for Turnbull High.

Address Verification for Bishopbriggs Academy

East Dunbartonshire Council requires verification of a pupil’s address between November and January. The following documents will be required to be shown.

• A Council Tax Notice with the legal guardian’s name
• Utility Statement – Broadband, gas, electric, etc., dated in the past 3 months
• Official/ Legal letter – A bank statement with Child Benefit or HMRC tracking to show the pupil lives at the address

How Does Bishopbriggs Academy Handle Bullying?

Bishopbriggs Academy’s bullying policy is in line with the Scottish Government’s Respect for All national framework.

The school follows a strict anti-bullying program with prevention and staff intervention playing a key role. Any incidents reported to the Bishopbriggs Academy staff will result in an immediate investigation and support.

Intervention Strategy

Bishopbriggs Academy staff aim to resolve conflicts through peer support networks, monitoring the pupils involved, and educating the students on the harms of bullying.

S1 to S3 students will learn the impact of cyber-bullying, insults based on prejudice, staying safe online, and external youth groups visit the school for workshops.

Senior pupils in S5 and S6 will be trained as peer mentors through the Mentors in Violence Prevention at Bishopbriggs Academy. A focus of the program is to teach pupils to challenge bullying behaviours and not act as passive onlookers.

First year pupils are paired with senior buddies to show them about the school, how to deal with bullying, and ease the process for transitioning from primary to secondary school. Bishopbriggs Academy also runs a House Tutor system so students can have a trusted contact to ease any anxieties.

SEEMIS Tracking

Reports from a student, parents, or teacher of any bullying related incidents will be recorded. Pupils and witnesses will be interviewed in private and all notes will be logged in the SEEMIS tracking system. After all the details of the bullying incident has been recorded, the Guidance Teacher will conclude the best course of action.

Educating the person committing the bullying and protecting the victim is a key component to how Bishopbriggs Academy handles bullying. Pupils work with the staff to come up with solutions to prevent anymore bullying including finding out the cause of the issue, rearranging seating in classrooms, and supervised breaks.

Punishment is not the sole conclusion of the student committing the bullying. Staff try to find the root cause and work with the parents or carers to come up with a solution and find any issues at home that could be the cause of the misbehaviour. Pupils who continue to bully any other pupils after going through this process can face suspension or even expulsion in severe instances.

Still deciding on the best local high school? Find our guide to Bearsden Academy here.

Bishopbriggs Academy Famous Alumni

A few famous people once walked the halls of Bishopbriggs Academy. You might have heard of a few of them below.

• Amy Macdonald: The multi-platinum signer-songwriter attended the school and has came back to visit the new campus several times.
• Professor Jackie Kay CBE, FRSE: Award winning poet, author, and playwright who served as the Scottish Makar – the National Poet of Scotland for 5 years.
• Roderick Buchanan: Contemporary visual artist with works in major galleries including the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate.
• Storm Huntley: Television presenter and broadcaster known for working on the likes of CBeebies, Jeremy Vine, and BBC Scotland.
• Osama Saeed: Political commentator and Head of Communications at Al Jazeera plus many international media roles.
• Alistair Kellock: Led the Scottish National Rugby Team and captained the Glasgow Warriors. Most notably led the Scotland team in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
• Katie Shanahan: British international and Scottish Commonwealth Games swimmer. She is a multi-time European and Commonwealth medal winner, with a speciality in individual medley and backstroke events.
• Dougie Freedman: Footballer who played for Crystal Palace, Wolves, Nottingham Forest, and earned caps for the Scotland team. Freedman then went on to become a manager.
• Dylan McGeouch: Professional Scottish footballer who has played for major clubs across the UK, including Celtic, Hibernian, Sunderland, Aberdeen, and the Scotland National Team.
• Sir Akhlaq Choudhury: First British-Pakistani to be appointed as a Justice of the High Court of England and Wales.
• Paul Stallan: Award-winning architect who designed the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village in Glasgow. Other notable designs include the Falkirk Wheel and the Scottish Parliament building.

Useful Links For Bishopbriggs Academy Pupils and Parents

A few helpful resources for Bishopbriggs Academy current and potential pupils and parents.

• East Dunbartonshire Council School Boundaries Map: Check if your property sits within the Bishopbriggs Academy catchment area.
• Education Scotland Inspection Portal: Find the latest inpsection reports for Bishopbriggs Acedemy and any other school in Scotland.
• School Clothing Grants & Free Meals: Apply/ check if your family is eligable for free school meals and a clothing grant on the Easy Dunbartonshire Council website.

FAQs

Find answers to some common questions regarding Bishopbriggs Academy.

What type of School is Bishopbriggs Academy?

Bishopbriggs Academy is a co-educational, non-denominational state secondary comprehensive school.

What Time Does Bishopbriggs Academy Finish?

Bishopbriggs Academy finishes at 3.50pm on a Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays the school closes at 3.10pm.

When Was Bishopbriggs Academy Founded?

Bishopbriggs Academy was founded in 2026 with the amalgamation of Bishopbriggs High School and Thomas Muir High School. The new campus opened in 2029 with state of the art facilities.