Parents in villages east of Linlithgow will be asked in August if they want to send their children to Winchburgh Academy. West Lothian’s Education Executive backed proposals from education officers to launch a consultation at the start of the new school year.
Proposal Origin and Rationale
A report to the committee said that the proposal to move from the Linlithgow Academy catchment area to that of one of West Lothian’s newest secondaries had come from parents. The new secondary is a mile closer to villagers in Bridgend than Linlithgow Academy.
Consultation Timeline and Public Meeting
The consultation will run from 24 August until 9 October. A public meeting is planned for 7 September in Bridgend Primary School.
Details of the Proposed Change
In a report to the Executive, Andrew Cotton, a senior education planning officer, said: “The proposed changes respond to parental requests for change in the catchment boundaries and to build on the successful education linkages already established between Bridgend Primary School and Winchburgh Primary School including the joint headship and activities across the two school communities. The proposed area of change covers the entire Bridgend Primary School catchment and covers the villages of Bridgend, Philpstoun and Threemiletown. It is currently located in the Linlithgow Academy catchment and the proposal is to change to the Winchburgh Academy catchment. There has been a stated community desire from some parents in Threemiletown and Bridgend to include the area within the Winchburgh Academy catchment.”
Impact on Current Pupils and Staffing
The statutory consultation will allow the council to understand if this desire is shared by a majority of parents across the catchment. There are 187 children in the area currently attending West Lothian schools. There will be no impact to pupils currently in attendance at West Lothian schools as a result of proposed variations to school catchment areas. All pupils currently attending secondary schools will continue to attend their existing school for the remainder of their education if that is their wish. Mr Cotton told the meeting that results of the consultation would be brought back to a December meeting of the Education Executive for a decision. Responding to questions, he said that if a change was to take place it could be in place for the start of the 2027/28 session. For the EIS teaching union local rep Heather Hughes asked what effect this would have on staffing levels at Linlithgow. Mr Cotton said that the annual numbers would be around 20 which would have no effect on required staffing for the town’s high school.
Capacity and Background
Answering a question from the chair of the committee, Councillor Andrew McGuire, Mr Cotton said that the proposal had come from parents not education officials, adding that there was adequate capacity at both high schools. The first students attended Winchburgh Academy in August 2022. The school was initially planned for a roll of 660 to attend but has a design capacity to increase to accommodate 1,210 pupils. It shares a campus ground and facilities with the RC high school Sinclair Academy developed as part of a £60m investment in the rapidly expanding village.
