Church leaders in Scotland want city of Aberdeen to provide a Catholic high school

Catholic bishops in Scotland are asking the Aberdeen City Council to establish a Catholic secondary school in Aberdeen. The bishops noted that Aberdeen is the largest city in Scotland without a Catholic high school, despite having a Catholic population of over 230,000 people.

The bishops stated that the Aberdeen City Council Education and Children’s Services Committee voted in September 2024 and September 2025 to form a group of Church and Council representatives to study the possibility of opening a Catholic secondary school. While Aberdeen has more school-aged Catholics than Dundee, it only has three Catholic primary schools, whereas Dundee has ten primary schools and two secondary schools.

Council officials have expressed doubt regarding the proposal, stating it is unlikely a Catholic secondary school would reach the 1,000-pupil threshold necessary to build a new facility.