Schools in Dunfermline: catchments, enrolment, nurseries and term dates

How it works in Fife

Fife Council runs the state schools in Dunfermline. Four things to know:

• Catchments. Every home has a non-denominational and a denominational (Roman Catholic) catchment school at primary and secondary level. Check yours on Fife Council's catchment checker (opens in a new tab).
• Nursery from age 3. All 3- and 4-year-olds, and eligible 2-year-olds, get 1140 hours a year of funded early learning and childcare.
• Primary 1 enrolment. Fife Council runs an online P1 application each winter. The window for August 2026 ran from 6 January to 15 March 2026.
• Secondary is automatic. P7 pupils at Fife Council primary schools move up to their catchment secondary automatically.

Dunfermline's schools

Our schools page lists 16 Fife Council primary schools in and around the city (including Crossgates), four secondaries and two specialist schools. The secondaries are Dunfermline High School, Queen Anne High School, and, on the Dunfermline Learning Campus, Woodmill High School and St Columba’s RC High School. Specialist provision includes Calaiswood School and Woodmill ASN. Read more in Schools and catchments in Dunfermline.

Nursery and early learning

Funded places are available at council nurseries, nursery classes in primary schools, and partner private nurseries, playgroups and childminders. Fife Council says nurseries do not have catchment areas, and a place at a school nursery does not guarantee a P1 place at that school. Our nurseries guide covers start dates, session patterns and help for 2-year-olds. Settings are listed in our nurseries page.

Starting school, placing requests and deferral

If you want a school other than your catchment school, you make a placing request. For P1 it is an option in the online form; for other year groups, Fife Council says to contact the school. Some children whose fifth birthday falls between mid-August and the end of February have the right to defer P1 by a year. The full detail is in Enrolling in school in Dunfermline.

Term dates, meals and grants

The 2026/27 Christmas holiday runs from Wednesday 23 December 2026 to Tuesday 5 January 2027. All P1 to P5 pupils get free school meals. P6 and P7 meals cost £2.75 for two courses unless your family qualifies for free meals. The school clothing grant is £130 per primary pupil and £160 per secondary pupil. See term dates, meals and clothing grants.

Getting to school

Fife Council provides school transport only to pupils at their catchment school who live more than one mile away (primary) or two miles away (secondary). Pupils outside catchment can use a National Entitlement Card for free bus travel up to their 22nd birthday. See Fife Council's mainstream school transport (opens in a new tab) page.

Articles in this guide

Local Areas

• Duloch & Masterton: Woodmill High, St Columba's RC High and Woodmill ASN on the Learning Campus, plus Duloch, Carnegie, Canmore and Masterton primaries.
• Brucefield & Netherton: Dunfermline High School and St Leonard's Primary.
• Headwell & Bellyeoman: Queen Anne High School and Bellyeoman Primary.
• Halbeath & Whitefields: Carnegie and Crossgates primaries, and the Whitefields new-build area.
• Townhill & Wellwood: Townhill Primary and the Dunfermline North (Wellwood) development.
• Abbeyview: Lynburn, Commercial and St Margaret's RC primaries.

In the directory

Schools 22 Nurseries 25 Out-of-School Clubs 12 Libraries 2

• Dunfermline High School, Jennie Rennies Road, Dunfermline, KY11 3BQ · 01383 602 402
• Queen Anne High School, Broomhead Parks, Dunfermline, KY12 0PQ · 01383 602 404
• Woodmill High School, Dunfermline Learning Campus, Old Muirhouses Road, Dunfermline, KY11 8WH · 01383 602 352
• St Columbas RC High School, Dunfermline Learning Campus, Old Muirhouses Road, Dunfermline, KY11 8WH · 01383 602 405
• Calaiswood School, Calaiswood School and Community Campus, Nightingale Place, Dunfermline, KY11 8LW · 01383 602 481
• Woodmill ASN, Woodmill High School, Dunfermline Learning Campus, Old Muirhouses Road, Dunfermline, KY11 8WH · 01383 602 352

Frequently asked questions