The site will be home to the new Winchburgh and Sinclair Academies and a replacement Holy Family Primary school, as well as a shared sport, leisure and community facility.

Executive councillor for education David Dodds said: “I’m delighted that we have taken another major step forward towards the delivery of the new £60.7 million Winchburgh schools project.

“The new schools and shared facility are essential to support the expanding community in the Winchburgh Core Development Area. West Lothian has one of the best school estates in the country, as we aim to give our young people the best possible platform for learning.

“The new state-of-the-art schools and sports and community hub will play a huge part in bringing the growing Winchburgh community together in the future.”

The new schools are required as part of a £1 billion masterplan for Winchburgh which will deliver new greenspaces including the 78-acre Auldcathie District Park, a new canal marina, improved transport links and at least 3,800 new homes.

The schools are partly funded with the support of a unique tri-partite agreement between West Lothian Council, the Scottish Government and Winchburgh Developments Ltd, a joint venture between West Coast Capital and CALA Homes.

John Hamilton, CEO of Winchburgh Developments Ltd, said: “The development at Winchburgh is one of the largest and most exciting placemaking projects currently underway in the UK. The development of the first new build primary school and Phase 1 of two new secondary schools provides crucial education capacity to continue with delivery of the full Winchburgh masterplan.

“To enable the schools’ development, we agreed a very innovative funding structure with the council and The Scottish Government alongside our section 75 Agreement. That has effectively opened up the rest of the masterplan and major infrastructure delivery, which we expect will generate in excess of 5,000 new jobs by completion of the masterplan.  

“The new schools’ campus also enjoys a unique location adjacent to the new Auldcathie District Park, providing direct access to greenspace, which is a fantastic bonus for pupils and staff and the wider community.”  

The project is being delivered on behalf of the council by its development partner hub South East, with Morrison Construction as the primary contractor.

Preparation work started on-site towards the construction of the new schools after contract close was achieved in July.