Thursday June 11th 2026
Winchburgh Academy
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Villagers living east of Linlithgow will be consulted on plans to move local primaries from Linlithgow Academy’s catchment into that of Winchburgh Academy.
The Education PDSP heard that there was a “stated desire” for the change that had prompted plans for consultation in August.
Andrew Cotton said the call had come from parents and the schools in Bridgend and Threemiletown – not from the education department officers.
A report to committee said: “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.
“The proposal aligns secondary catchments with the successful education linkages already established between Bridgend Primary School and Winchburgh Primary School including the joint headship and activities across the 2 school communities.
“There has been a stated community desire to include the area within the Winchburgh Academy catchment. There are 187 children in the area currently attending West Lothian schools.”
Councillor Tom Conn asked Andrew Cotton, Senior Education Planning Officer: “Where did this stated desire come from, and how is it being expressed?
Mr Cotton replied: “It has been a combination of feedback received by the school and by some of the parents in the school community.
Mr Cotton said it was not an issue of capacity. There is adequate capacity in 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.
Winchburgh Academy is almost a mile closer to Bridgend than the Linlithgow high school is.
He added that the consultation results would come back to the council’s Executive for a final decision and he pointed out that the consultation may deliver a different point of view from parents.
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