Willowbank School, Kilmarnock
Willowbank School is a special school for pupils in Kilmarnock.
- Attendance
- 88%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Willowbank School in detail
School in Scotland
Willowbank School 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 111 pupils and 4.8 pupils per teacher.
100% of pupils have an additional support need recorded.
34% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 9% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 88% in 2024/25, and 38.5% 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 poor (C).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Willowbank School are Park School (1.2 miles), Onthank Supported Learning Centre (1.3 miles) and Crosshouse Communication Unit (2.6 miles).
Park SchoolOnthank Supported Learning CentreCrosshouse Communication Unit
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Kilmarnock Rail Station, about 970 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Grassyards Road (after), 220 metres away.
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 Willowbank School's reports on the inspectorate's website.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Willowbank School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 2
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt.
0 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 East Ayrshire is 2 (the median across 55 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
Questions parents ask about Willowbank School
What is the catchment area for Willowbank School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Willowbank School 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 East Ayrshire. East Ayrshire publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Willowbank School?
If you live in Willowbank School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and East Ayrshire will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to East Ayrshire - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Willowbank School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt. 0 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 East Ayrshire is 2 (the median across 55 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Willowbank School?
Willowbank School is at Grassyards Road, Kilmarnock, Kilmarnock, KA3 7BB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)