Whitburn Academy, WEST LOTHIAN
Whitburn Academy is a secondary school for pupils in West Lothian.
- Attendance
- 84.8%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Whitburn Academy in detail
School in Scotland
Whitburn Academy is a local authority school in Scotland. Scottish schools are inspected by Education Scotland rather than Ofsted, and Scotland does not publish school-by-school exam league tables.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 891 pupils and 14.4 pupils per teacher.
25% of pupils are registered for free school meals, 49% of pupils have an additional support need recorded and 6% speak English as an additional language.
30% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 0% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 84.8% in 2024/25, and 43.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
The 2026 school estate survey rated its buildings' condition as satisfactory (B) and their suitability for teaching as satisfactory (B); the school was 71% full.
94% of pupils who left in 2024/25 went on to a positive destination - further or higher education, training, work or volunteering, against 94% for its "virtual comparator", a matched group of pupils with similar backgrounds from across Scotland.
Whitburn Academy in its own words
In its own words: "We are very proud of our school and we hope that by browsing here for just a few minutes you will be able to get a flavour of what Whitburn Academy is all about and what it stands for."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, gymnastics, basketball, badminton, swimming, running, dance, drama and choir.
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Whitburn Academy are St Kentigern's Academy (1.7 miles), Armadale Academy (2.3 miles) and Bathgate Academy (3.3 miles).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Armadale Railway Station, about 1.4 miles away in a straight line.
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Whitburn Academy (at), 70 metres away.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Whitburn Academy are Whitdale Primary School (0.3 miles), Croftmalloch Primary School (0.5 miles), Polkemmet Primary School (0.6 miles) and St Joseph's Primary School (Whitburn) (0.8 miles). In Scotland, secondary places normally follow the catchment area, and each secondary school has associated primary schools; West Lothian publishes both.
Whitdale Primary SchoolCroftmalloch Primary SchoolPolkemmet Primary SchoolSt Joseph's Primary School (Whitburn)
Sources: Scottish Government school statistics: pupil census, attendance and absence, school estate, leaver destinations (OGL); NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
Scottish GovernmentInspection
Schools in Scotland are inspected by Education Scotland, not Ofsted. Find Whitburn Academy's reports on the inspectorate's website.
About
Whitburn Academy is a mixed secondary school in Whitburn, West Lothian, Scotland.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Whitburn Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 14
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 6
- Children hurt
- 5
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 6 serious and 8 slight.
5 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in West Lothian is 4 (the median across 88 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Whitburn Academy
What is the catchment area for Whitburn Academy?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Whitburn Academy is no exception: children living in its zone are normally given a place there automatically. Families who want a different school make a placing request to West Lothian. West Lothian publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Whitburn Academy?
If you live in Whitburn Academy's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and West Lothian will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to West Lothian - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Whitburn Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 6 serious and 8 slight. 5 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in West Lothian is 4 (the median across 88 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Whitburn Academy?
Whitburn Academy is at Shanks Road, Whitburn, WEST LOTHIAN, WEST LOTHIAN, EH47 0HL.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)