Education in Shetland
Pre-school and schools
In 2024 there were:
- 24 Local Authority nurseries, 23 of which were based in schools
- 24 schools with primary departments only
- 6 schools with primary and secondary departments
- 1 school with a secondary department only
- 352 nursery pupils
- 1,690 primary pupils
- 1,510 secondary pupils
- 316 full time equivalent nursery and school teaching staff
Further education
Shetland has one college, Shetland UHI, which was founded in August 2021, from the merger of the North Atlantic Fisheries College, Shetland College and Train Shetland. The new college is a partner of the University of Highlands and Islands.
UHI Shetland statistics 2022/23:
- 1,884 students enrolled, 97% of which were enrolled in part time courses
- 78.5% of full time and 97.8% of part time students completed or partially completed their course
- 29 permanent full-time teaching staff
Modern Apprenticeships
During 2023/24 there were 182 new start modern apprentices in Shetland, and 329 apprentices in training as at 31st March 2024.
Of those who left the Modern Apprenticeship programme in 2023/24, 81.3% achieved their apprenticeship. This is higher than the Scottish average achievement rate of 76.0%.