South Ayrshire, covering an area of 1,222 square kilometres, is located on the west coast of Scotland, and has a current population of 111,670. There are 55 publicly funded schools, including 44 primaries,8 secondaries and 3 special schools. 15,026 pupils attend these schools, including 7,974 primary pupils, 6,957 secondary pupils and 95 special needs pupils.