West Calder High School

{{Infobox school

| name = West Calder High School

| image =

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| motto = Ambition, Respect, Equity - We ARE West Calder High School

| established =

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| religious_affiliation = Non-denominational

| president =

| head_label = Head Teacher

| head = Greg McDowall

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| address = Limefield Lane

| city = West Calder

| county =

| country = Scotland

| coordinates = {{Coord|55|51|13.32|N|3|33|34.4|W|type:edu|display=inline,title}}

| postcode = EH55 8BF

| local_authority =

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| staff =

| enrolment = 944

| gender = Mixed

| lower_age = 11

| upper_age = 18

| houses = Harburn and Limefield

| colours = {{Color box|red|border=darkgray}} {{Color box|black|border=darkgray}} {{Color box|silver|border=darkgray}}
Red, Black & Hint of silver

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| website = {{url|https://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.

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/west-lothian-high-school-given-21011312| title=West Lothian High School given design award |publisher=Scottish Daily Record |access-date=22 October 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/new-32-million-state-art-13579383| title=New £32 million state-of-the-art West Lothian school officially opened by former Prime Minister |publisher=Scottish Daily Record |access-date=22 October 2021}} Construction of the new school began in 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/new-32million-high-school-west-9401293| title=New £32million high school in West Calder moves one step closer |publisher=Scottish Daily Record |access-date=22 October 2021}} The school cost £32 million and was completed both on time and within budget. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk/media-centre/new-32-million-west-calder-high-school-completed/ |title=News & Media - Morrison Construction |website=www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715190510/http://www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk/media-centre/new-32-million-west-calder-high-school-completed/ |archive-date=2018-07-15}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk/media-centre/new-32m-west-calder-high-school-opened-by-former-prime-minister/ |title=News & Media - Morrison Construction |website=www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204349/http://www.morrisonconstruction.co.uk/media-centre/new-32m-west-calder-high-school-opened-by-former-prime-minister/ |archive-date=2019-01-06}} {{cite web|url=https://gordonandsarahbrown.com/2018/11/32million-state-of-the-art-school-opened-by-un-education-envoy-designed-to-be-at-forefront-of-achievement-and-opportunity/ |title=£32million state-of-the-art school opened by UN Education Envoy designed to be ‘at forefront of achievement and opportunity’ |publisher=The Office of Sarah and Gordon Brown |access-date=12 April 2023}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.educationbuildings.scot/awards-categories-2/ |title=2018 Award Winners - Education Buildings Scotland |website=www.educationbuildings.scot |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204922/https://www.educationbuildings.scot/awards-categories-2/ |archive-date=2019-01-06}} In 2019, the school won Project of the Year title at the Education Buildings Scotland Awards.

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/west-lothian-schools-surge-higher-20581085| title=West Lothian schools surge in higher passes as new rankings reveal attainment rise |publisher=Edinburgh Live |access-date=22 October 2021}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/new-sense-of-pride-at-west-calder-high-where-children-lived-in-fear-2w62x32s2 | title=New sense of pride at West Calder High where children lived in fear |work=The Times |access-date=22 October 2021}}

Notable alumni

Dougal Haston (1940–1977), mountaineer
Angela Constance (born 1970), politician

References

External links

{{official|https://wchs.westlothian.org.uk/}}

Category:Educational institutions established in 1965

Category:Secondary schools in West Lothian

Category:1965 establishments in Scotland

Category:West Calder

Category:School buildings completed in 2018