Highlands and Islands best place to raise kids

The 2015 Bank of Scotland Children’s Quality of Life Survey found that children in Orkney enjoy the best quality of life of any local area district (LAD), followed shortly by the Shetland Islands and the Western Isles.

Orkney achieved the top spot based on low primary school class size, high school spending per pupil, and the low population density and low traffic. Children there are also likely to be surrounded by adults who are in employment and who rate their own personal well-being as very high.

Nitesh Patel, economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “The north of Scotland has always done well when we’ve looked at Quality of Life indexes.

“So it’s no surprise that Orkney, the Shetland Islands and Western Isles are the top three in the 2015 Bank of Scotland Children’s Quality of Life Index across both Scotland and Great Britain.

“Children in these areas benefit from low primary school class sizes, low pupil to teacher ratio in secondary schools, excellent exam results and some of the highest school spend per pupil.”