St. Kentigern's Academy is a Roman Catholic, comprehensive school in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland. It is one of three Catholic secondaries in the local authority area (the others being St Margaret's Academy in Livingston and Sinclair Academy in Winchburgh) and serves the communities in the western and northern parts of West Lothian including Armadale, Bathgate, Fauldhouse, Linlithgow and Whitburn.
| St Kentigern's Academy | |
|---|---|
 St Kentigern's Academy school emblem. | |
| Location | |
 | |
60 West Main Street , , EH47 7LX Scotland | |
| Coordinates | 55°52′17″N 3°38′03″W / 55.8714°N 3.6342°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Secondary school |
| Motto | Latin: Carissimus Deo |
Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Founded | 1973 |
Local authority | West Lothian Council |
Head Teacher | Gerry Burns |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Houses | Columba, Margaret and Ninian |
| Colours | Green, black, and white |
| Website | www |
The school was built in 1973 and refurbished in 1995/6 and again in 2009. A large amount of the schools main building was reopened in April 2026 after a £35 million reconstruction project to remove RAAC roofing. [1]
History
editIn 2009, there was a formal opening of a £19,000,000 refurbishment and extension to the school; guests included the late Cardinal Keith O'Brien as well as singer Susan Boyle, a former pupil.[2]
In 2012, a group of pupils made a video to highlight the high rate of poverty amongst children in the UK, and submitted it to competition for Unicef. As well as winning the competition, they were also awarded a Rotary Young Citizens Award.[3][4]
In June 2017 a 16-year-old student was instructed by the Head Teacher, Mr Sharkey, to remove an LGBT Pride badge from his uniform on the basis that it "Promoted homosexuality". However, West Lothian Council later denied these claims stating "Pupils at St Kentigern's are asked to remove all non-school related badges from their uniforms".[5] A stabbing incident occurred in September 2017, where a 13-year-old slashed a 14-year-old in the canteen, which had around 200 people in it at the time. The weapon was believed to be a kitchen knife. Charges were pressed on the 13 year-old perpetrator.[6]
In 2017 and 2019, Computing Science teacher, Toni Scullion, won a number of awards for her work in furthering women in Tech, including the 2019 Secondary Teacher of the Year award at the Scottish Women in Tech awards.[7]
In 2022, all schools in Scotland were ranked by exam pass rate, St Kentigern's Academy placed 10th in West Lothian Bearley beating Deans Community High and placing 112th out of 340 in Scotland.
In March 2023, urgent repairs and refurbishments began at the school after an earlier inspection found RAAC in part of the schools roofing.[8]
On 6 June 2023, 14-year-old Hamdan Aslam died following an incident. Police were called to the school at approximately 13:20 and the boy was taken by ambulance to hospital where he died shortly after. A post mortem was carried out and the cause of death was determined to be natural causes via a heart condition. A report was sent to the procurator fiscal.[9]
In November 2024, head teacher Andrew Sharkey suddenly died after the discovery of a brain tumour; he had been in office from April 2014 until his death.[10] In April 2025, it was announced that Dr Gerry Burns (formerly of St Margaret's Academy and Sinclair Academy) would be the new headteacher.[11]
In April 2026, a new £35 million wing of the school opened to the puplic, replacing the previous section of the school found to contain RAAC roofing. The new wing includes a large dinning area, games hall, fitness suite and a large range of other learning and office spaces.[12]
Notable former pupils
edit- Susan Boyle (b. 1961), singer[2]
- Stephen Greenhorn (b. 1964), playwright and screenwriter[13]
- John Rae (b. 1966), jazz drummer, composer and band leader
- Fern Brady (b. 1986), comedian, podcaster and writer
- Lewis Capaldi (b. 1996), singer-songwriter and musician[14]
References
edit- ↑ "West Lothian £35m school opens three years after RAAC discovery forced demolitions". Edinburgh News. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Susan Boyle Helps Open New St Kentigern's Academy". West Lothian Courier. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ↑ "Students highlight UK child poverty". BBC News. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ↑ "Young people win Rotary Award". Unicef. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ↑ "Scottish student told to remove Pride badge because it 'promoted' homosexuality". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ↑ "Boy, 13, charged after school slashing". BBC News. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ↑ Clark, John-Paul (1 November 2019). "West Lothian teacher picks up top title at national awards". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ↑ "Council 'can't afford' school's £35m Raac rebuild". BBC News. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ↑ "Death of school pupil in Blackburn - update - Police Scotland". www.scotland.police.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ↑ Dalgetty, Lee (30 November 2024). "Tributes pour in for 'dedicated and passionate' Scouts Scotland Vice President". Edinburgh Live. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- ↑ Pringle, Michael (28 April 2025). "New headteacher appointed at St Kentigern's Academy in West Lothian". Daily Record. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ↑ "St. Kentigern's rebuild complete". West Lothian Council. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Kerr, Marjorie (23 November 2015). "West Lothian school welcomes special guest to 'Sunshine on Leith' performance". Daily Record. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ↑ "Lewis Capaldi: From Bathgate to Brits success". 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.