Western Isles third best to raise kids

Taking the top two spots for the second year in a row in the annual survey were fellow Scottish island’s Orkney and Shetland

Among the key indicators in seeing the Western Isles ranked third in the 2016 Bank of Scotland Children’s Quality of Life Survey were the fact that the Western Isles boasts the highest average number of rooms in house; the lowest secondary school pupil-teacher ratio; and also the highest personal wellbeing (average of life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety).

Orkney was again voted the top place to raise children due to their high average school spend per pupil, low class sizes and little traffic.

The average school spend was £9,281 per pupil for Orkney.

This was more than double the British average.

Orkney had one of the lowest population densities in Britain, with 22 people per square km.

This was against the national average of 276.

Shetland was said to have the highest employment rate in Scotland with 89.1%.

Bank of Scotland economist Nitesh Patel said: “The north of Scotland has always done well when we’ve done this research.

“So it’s no surprise that Orkney, the Shetland Islands and Western Isles remain the top three in the 2016 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 ratios in secondary schools, excellent exam results and some of the highest school spend per pupil.”