Established by the will of John Newland (a Jamaican-plantation slave owner) in 1799,[2][3][4] the school was originally located on Marjoribanks Street;[5] its main building dates from 1833 and was designed by R & R Dickson.

[6] In 1965, the Academy merged with Lindsay High School and moved fully to a new campus further east at Boghall two years later.

[7] The existing Lindsay High building on Kirk Road was taken over by the local Catholic school, St Mary's Academy, which already had its own buildings next door – all were demolished in 1994.

[8] The original Academy building was taken over by West Lothian College (originally Bathgate Technological College) in the 1960s[9] 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,[10][11] the old Academy lay unused for several years in the early 21st century before being converted to apartments, forming the centrepiece of a development.