Bathgate Academy is a mixed secondary school in

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, West Lothian, Armadale, Blackburn, ...

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...

, Scotland, also serving the nearby town of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and nort ...

History

Established by the will of John Newland (a Jamaican-plantation slave owner) in 1799, the school was originally located on Marjoribanks Street; its main building dates from 1833 and was designed by

R & R Dickson Richard and Robert Dickson (usually simply referred to as R & R Dickson) were brothers, acting as architects in Scotland in the early and mid-19th century. Whilst most of their work is typified by remote country houses they are best known for th ...

. In 1965, the Academy merged with Lindsay High School and moved fully to a new campus further east at

Boghall Boghall is a Council Estate built in the early 1960s in West Lothian, Scotland just to the east of Bathgate. Boghall's two primary schools are Boghall Primary School and St. Columbus R.C. Primary School. Boghall has a range of amenities includi ...

two years later. The existing Lindsay High building on Kirk Road was taken over by the local Catholic school,

St Mary's Academy ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy a ...

, which already had its own buildings next door – all were demolished in 1994. From 1970 to 1988, the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

(headteacher) was Ian McGregor. Bathgate Academy

The original Academy building was taken over by West Lothian College (originally Bathgate Technological College) in the 1960s when the secondary school moved to its current location – it was also used as annexe to Balbardie Primary School in the 1960s and 70s. After the college moved to new premises in Livingston, the old Academy lay unused for several years in the early 21st century before being converted to apartments, forming the centrepiece of a development.Check out the £145,000 bungalow tucked away inside this stunning A-listed West Lothian building
Edinburgh Live, 1 July 2019

Notable former pupils

* John McIntyre, Professor of Divinity and Principal of New College in the University of Edinburgh, Moderator of the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivra ...

, Dean of the Thistle *

Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve drive ...

, Formula 1 racing driver and television presenter * Richard B. Angus of Montreal, co-founder of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

and President of the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

*Lieutenant-General Sir James Baird, senior British Army officer and Director General Army Medical Services * Sir Andrew Stark, British ambassador to Denmark * Jack Kane,

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio ...

Robert Lyell Mitchell Dr Robert Lyell Mitchell FRSE FRSC (3 June 1910 – 7 February 1982) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist and mountaineer. He was an expert on trace elements in soil and their effect on grazing animals, and served as the Director of the Macaulay I ...

, chemist * Marcus Fleming, economist *Very Rev

Alison Elliot Alison Elliot CBE FRSE (born 27 November 1948) is an honorary fellow at New College, Edinburgh. She was the former Associate Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2004 she became the ...

, first female

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Asse ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Secondary schools in West Lothian Bathgate Educational institutions established in 1833 1833 establishments in Scotland School buildings completed in 1965