West Calder High School

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West Calder High School
Address
West Calder High School
Limefield Lane

West Calder
,
EH55 8BF

Scotland
Coordinates 55°51′13.32″N3°33′34.4″W / 55.8537000°N 3.559556°W / 55.8537000; -3.559556
Information
MottoAmbition, Respect, Equity - We ARE West Calder High School
Religious affiliation(s)Non-denominational
Head TeacherGreg McDowall
GenderMixed
Age11to 18
Enrolment944
HousesHarburn and Limefield
Colour(s)   
Red, Black & Hint of silver
Website wchs.westlothian.org.uk

West Calder High School is a secondary school in West Calder, West Lothian, Scotland. The current school building was officially opened in 2018 by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the UN's Special Envoy for Global Education.

Contents

History

The school first opened in 1965 to take up to 750 pupils from the Calders Area of West Lothian, Scotland, which includes East Calder, Mid Calder, West Calder and Polbeth. The enrollment of pupils in the school was around 900 pupils in 2011.

The current West Calder High School, the fourth to bear the name, was opened to staff and pupils in August 2018. [1] [2] Construction of the new school began in 2016. [3] The school cost £32 million and was completed both on time and within budget. [2] The 1,100 capacity school is West Lothian's biggest single investment in education and has been designed with the pupil experience at the core, as well as providing facilities accessible to the local community. The project was completed by Morrison Construction with developer Hub South East. [4] The school was officially opened on 8 November 2018 by the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister. [5] [2] [6]

Since its opening, the designers of the new West Calder High School building, NORR UK, were nominated for but did not win an award in the 'Pupil Experience' category at the 2018 Education Building Scotland Awards in November 2018. [7] In 2019, the school won Project of the Year title at the Education Buildings Scotland Awards. [1]

In March 2016 inspectors from Education Scotland visited the previous school building to carry out an inspection. This highlighted strengths and areas for improvement and identified that the school needed additional support to improve. A follow-up visit was made by Education Scotland in June 2017 highlighting improvements made. In 2021, it was reported that the school had made significant gains in improving academic achievement. [8] In May 2021, The Times reported that the school was placed in the top 20 of their school League Table and observed that it had become Scotland's most improved high school with 70 per cent of pupils attaining a gold standard of five highers or more. [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 "West Lothian High School given design award". Scottish Daily Record. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "New £32 million state-of-the-art West Lothian school officially opened by former Prime Minister". Scottish Daily Record. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "New £32million high school in West Calder moves one step closer". Scottish Daily Record. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "News & Media - Morrison Construction". www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "News & Media - Morrison Construction". www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019.
  6. ↑ "£32million state-of-the-art school opened by UN Education Envoy designed to be 'at forefront of achievement and opportunity'". The Office of Sarah and Gordon Brown. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "2018 Award Winners - Education Buildings Scotland". www.educationbuildings.scot. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "West Lothian schools surge in higher passes as new rankings reveal attainment rise". Edinburgh Live. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "New sense of pride at West Calder High where children lived in fear". The Times. Retrieved 22 October 2021.


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