SCOTTISH private schools have recorded their best ever results at Higher, new figures show.

Pupils from the independent sector recorded an overall pass rate of 93.5 per cent in their Higher exams in 2015 with 57 per cent of pupils securing A's.

That compares with a pass rate of 93 per cent for the previous three years with the number of A passes falling slightly in 2014 from 56 per cent to 55 per cent.

According to The Herald league tables St Mary's Music School, in Edinburgh, came top with all of its pupils who sat Highers passing.

However, the school only had eight pupils in its fifth form this summer which makes comparisons with other schools difficult.

Dr Kenneth Taylor, headteacher of St Mary's, Scotland's only independent specialist music school, said: "We were very pleased with the results this year and they reflect the hard work of the staff and pupils.

"We have got very able students in the school and the qualities to succeed in music in terms of hard work and determination serve you well in academic studies."

Second in our table was Kilgraston, a girls school in Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, where 99 per cent of those who sat Highers passed.

The school building was erected in 1800 and was a private house and then a hospital before it was purchased in 1930 by the Society of the Sacred Heart and opened as a school with 40 boarders. The society became an independent Catholic charitable trust in 2000.

Dorothy MacGinty, the school's headmistress, said: "The single sex education we offer is of great benefit because the girls are free to take risks in their learning a without being ridiculed or laughed at if it is not successful. In co-educational schools they are much less likely to take risks.

"We also gear our teaching to the way that girls learn best with a focus on collaboration, taking time to research and the importance of presentation."

Third in the list and top in the west of Scotland was St Columba's School, in Kilmacolm, Inverclyde with a pass rate of 98 per cent.

The school, which opened its doors in 1897,was one of only a few in the private sector who moved to the new Higher rather than sitting the old qualification or a mix of the two.

David Girdwood, the school's rector said: "I am delighted with this year’s excellent examination results and congratulate our teachers who have shown tremendous dedication to the challenging task of introducing the new Higher in all subjects this year.

"The new Higher is the culmination of many years of hard work for schools, following on, as it has, from the introduction of National 5 and consequential changes in courses in the earlier years of senior school.

"The results for the sector demonstrate that independent schools have risen to the challenge. Pupils are to be commended on their outstanding achievements which are a testimony to their commitment and academic diligence."

John Edward, director of the Scottish Council for Independent Schools, also welcomed the figures.

He said: "At a time when attainment is top of the political agenda, Scotland can be very proud of the efforts of these pupils and schools.

"They are also testament to committed families and to the highly-qualified teachers’ school seek to recruit and retain. The transition to new Highers and Advanced Highers has still to finish, but it is very clear that our pupils and schools have adapted as well as ever.

"In terms of attainment for individual pupils, no matter what their background, we can deliver as the results and school leaver destinations speak for themselves."

Just over four per cent of pupils in Scotland attend an independent school and the sector is equivalent in size to the seventh largest local authority in Scotland.

Private schools generally outperform those in the state sector in exams, but many select their pupils on the basis of their academic ability.