What information it holds on how many children have attended independent schools in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority ar…

This data has been collected by the Registrar of Independent Schools from available independent school census statistics. The census commences in the September of each year in accordance with part 4 of the Registration of Independent Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended by the Registration of Independent Schools (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021).
The following table outlines the number of children and young people who attended an independent school in each year since 2015, broken down by local authority. This data is not held from before 2015.
Local Authority
Pupil Numbers 2021
Pupil Numbers 2020
Pupil Numbers 2019
Pupil Numbers 2018
Pupil Numbers 2017
Pupil Numbers 2016
Pupil Number 2015
Aberdeen City Council
3,072*
3,032
3,082
3,402
3,115
3,034
3,256
Aberdeenshire Council
18*
15
15
15
21
23
21
Angus Council
223*
219
211
222
223
223
249
Argyll and Bute Council
352*
321
332
352
366
367
362
City of Edinburgh Council
11,298*
11,055
11,161
11,102
10,993
10,917
10,974
Clackmannanshire Council
1,550
1,530
1,531
1,509
1,469
1,409
1,470
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
9
13
12
13
13
17
15
Dumfries and Galloway Council
27
42
42
36
43
44
34
Dundee City Council
956*
920
954
968
979
1,002
1,022
East Ayrshire Council
12
51
51
35
32
31
43
East Dunbartonshire Council
19
16
16
1
0
15
1
East Lothian Council
753*
745
806
811
805
874
867
East Renfrewshire Council
205
199
199
209
219
220
221
Falkirk Council
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Fife Council
1,196*
1,148
1,120
1,087
1,078
1,098
1,107
Glasgow City Council
5,068*
5,004
5,196
5,238
5,369
5,420
5,506
Highland Council
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
Inverclyde Council
686
689
719
739
754
787
771
Midlothian Council
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Moray Council
603
600
607
626
598
605
645
North Ayrshire Council
56
66
66
74
91
72
66
North Lanarkshire Council
44
48
48
43
46
49
51
Orkney Islands Council
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Perth and Kinross Council
1,424*
1,350
1,454
1,443
1,423
1,434
1,478
Renfrewshire Council
233
236
237
246
263
268
263
Scottish Borders Council
134
142
157
155
156
154
161
Shetland Islands Council
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
South Ayrshire Council
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
South Lanarkshire Council
588
578
585
597
622
643
667
Stirling Council
292
279
269
254
509
545
560
West Dunbartonshire Council
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
West Lothian Council
16
18
18
11
11
12
11
Scotland
28,834
28,316
28,888
29,188
29,198
29,264
29,822
Some pupils will attend a school in a different local authority from the local authority area in which they reside.
Some pupils will be from outwith Scotland and attend a boarding school.
Some independent schools have a presence in more than one local authority, pupils from such schools have been allocated to the local authority of the main school.
The figures for 2021 differ from those provided in answer to PQ from September 2023 (S6W-21172 Written question and answer: S6W-21172 | Scottish Parliament Website ). *Figures have been corrected following the identification of schools being allocated to the wrong local authority. The total of pupils in independent schools for 2021 remains the same.