West Lothian

87 schools · 68 primary · 13 secondary

Browse all schools by town →Official council website ↗

Schools

27,576

Pupils

1,999

Teachers (FTE)

Open jobs

West Lothian is one of Scotland's 33 local authorities (councils), responsible for 87 state schools — 68 primary, 13 secondary and 6 special, educating around 27,576 pupils with 1,999 full-time-equivalent teachers. In 2024-25, West Lothian spent around £7,857 per primary pupil and £8,866 per secondary pupil — above the Scotland averages of £7,606 and £9,338. In 2024-25, 95.6% of school leavers went on to a positive destination (below the Scotland average of 95.7%), and 55.1% left with five or more Highers (Scotland average 40.8%). Schools in West Lothian are inspected by Education Scotland on a six-point scale. Browse every school by town, view pupil and staffing data, or compare schools side by side.

Education spending in West Lothian

Gross council expenditure per pupil/place, shown against the Scotland average (2024-25).

£7,857

per primary pupil

▲ 3%vs Scotland (£7,606)

£8,866

per secondary pupil

▼ 5%vs Scotland (£9,338)

£9,653

per pre-school place

▼ 20%vs Scotland (£12,055)

Source: Local Government Benchmarking Framework (Improvement Service), 2024-25, under the Open Government Licence. A higher figure is typical of rural and island councils, where smaller schools cost more per pupil to run — it does not by itself mean better-resourced classrooms.

School outcomes in West Lothian

How this council's schools compare to the Scotland average (2024-25). Higher is better.

95.6%

Positive destinations

▼ 0.1 ptsvs Scotland (95.7%)

80.6%

5+ at National 5

▲ 12 ptsvs Scotland (68.6%)

55.1%

5+ Highers

▲ 14.3 ptsvs Scotland (40.8%)

79.1%

Primary literacy

▲ 4.6 ptsvs Scotland (74.5%)

84.6%

Primary numeracy

▲ 4.3 ptsvs Scotland (80.3%)

90.6%

Attendance rate

▼ 0.4 ptsvs Scotland (91%)

66%

Parents satisfied

▼ 3 ptsvs Scotland (69%)

Source: Local Government Benchmarking Framework (Improvement Service), 2024-25, under the Open Government Licence. Outcomes are council-wide averages and reflect each school's intake and catchment, not just its teaching.