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  6. Proposal to Review Non-Denominational Primary to Secondary School Alignment in the Livingston and Almond Valley Core Development Area

Proposal to Review Non-Denominational Primary to Secondary School Alignment in the Livingston and Almond Valley Core Development Area

Proposal

West Lothian Council's Education Executive at its meeting on 11 November 2025 authorised Education Services to commence non-statutory pre-consultation on the proposal to address the projected capacity deficit at West Calder High School.

Consultation

Statutory consultations are necessary when a local authority is proposing to make a change to the school estate in this instance, proposed amendment to school catchment areas.  To carry out a public consultation the Council requires to follow the statutory guidance outlined in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

On this occasion, West Lothian Council has decided to undertake non-statutory pre-consultation. Non-statutory pre-consultation discussions will allow Council officers to share information, acknowledge and address the views of the communities affected, and finalise an informed proposal to take forward to the statutory consultation phase.

Consultation Paper

The consultation document outlining the proposal is available here:  Proposal to Review Non-denominational Primary to Secondary School Alignment in the Livingston and Almond Valley Core Development Area (PDF, 655 KB)(opens new window)

Proposed Catchment Maps

The proposed catchment maps are shown on WLC Coins here:  Coins Report - Proposal to Review Non-denominational Primary to Secondary School Alignment in the Livingston and Almond Valley Core Development Area (opens new window)

Public Meeting Presentation

The presentation slides that will be used for the public meetings are available here:  Presentation - School Alignment in the Livingston and Almond Valley Core Development Area (PDF, 311 KB)(opens new window)

Consultation Period

The public consultation period relating to the proposal is now closed. The consultation period ran from Monday 17 November 2025 until Friday 12 December 2025.  Public meetings to discuss the consultation document were held at:

  • Calderwood Primary School  |  Monday 01 December 2025  |  Time: 7-8pm
  • West Calder High School  |  Tuesday 02 December 2025  |  Time: 7-8pm
  • The James Young High School  |  Monday 08 December 2025  |  Time: 7-8pm
  • Winchburgh Academy  |  Tuesday 09 December 2025  |  Time: 7-8pm

Decision

Following the end of the non-statutory, pre-consultation, Education Executive on 13 January 2026 agreed the following:

Education Executive:

  1. notes the outcome of the non-statutory pre-consultation as set out in the appendix to this report.
     
  2. notes that officers will undertake further engagement with key stakeholders to address comments and questions received during the non-statutory consultation process.
     
  3. approves the postponement of the previous indicative timeline for statutory consultation until recommendation 2 has been completed.
     
  4. agrees that a solution to the capacity pressure at West Calder High School will require to be implemented for the S1 intake of 2028 and notes that any catchment review would need to be complete before the August 2028 S1 application process commences in December 2027.


For more information see the Education Executive report on WLC Coins:  Coins Report - School Alignment in the Livingston and Almond Valley Core Development Area (opens new window)