Schools in Blackburn with Darwen
88 schools in the Blackburn with Darwen local authority.
Schools
88
Open schools
Pupils
29,750
2025–26 census
Good or better
96%
67 of 70 graded
Academic Performance
5.0
out of 10 · 83 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 6 9%
- Good
- 61 87%
- Requires improvement
- 2 3%
- Inadequate
- 1 1%
7 inspected since 2024, no overall grade11 superseded by a report card11 not judged1 in a category of concern1 safeguarding not effective
5.0
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 83 of 88 schools that can be scored
Pupils
29,750
pupils on roll
Boys 50%50% Girls
Roll from 87 of 88 schools (29,750 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Ethnicity
White
41%Asian
48%Black
3%Mixed
4%Chinese
<1%Any other group
3%Unclassified
1%Ethnicity from 76 of 88 schools (27,759 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 27.6%
- First language not English
- 39.3%
- Young carers
- <1%
7,664 of 27,759 pupils · 76 of 88 schools
10,905 of 27,759 pupils · 76 of 88 schools
114 of 27,495 pupils · 72 of 88 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 56
- Secondary
- 13
- All-through
- 1
- Special
- 3
- Nursery
- 4
- PRU
- 2
- Not recorded
- 9
Top primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Wensley Fold CofE Primary AcademyBlackburn with Darwen · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 2.The Olive School, BlackburnBlackburn with Darwen · Primary9.1/10
- 3.Blackburn the Redeemer CofE PrimaryBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.9/10
- 4.St Gabriel's Church of England Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.3/10Good
- 5.Brookhouse Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.2/10Good
- 6.Cedars Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.2/10Good
- 7.Daisyfield Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.2/10Good
- 8.Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.1/10
- 9.Audley Junior SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.0/10Good
- 10.Lammack Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary8.0/10Good
- 11.Turton Belmont Community Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary7.6/10Good
- 12.Longshaw Community Junior SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary7.3/10Good
- 13.Avondale Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary7.2/10Good
- 14.Ashleigh Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary6.9/10Good
- 15.Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary AcademyBlackburn with Darwen · Primary6.9/10Good
- 16.Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary6.8/10Good
- 17.St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School, Feniscowles, BlackburnBlackburn with Darwen · Primary6.7/10Good
- 18.St Barnabas and St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary6.6/10Good
- 19.St Antony's RC Primary SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Primary6.5/10Good
- 20.St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnBlackburn with Darwen · Primary6.5/10Good
Top secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen
The highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Tauheedul Islam Boys' High SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary9.9/10Outstanding
- 2.Tauheedul Islam Girls' High SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary9.9/10Outstanding
- 3.Pleckgate High SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary9.5/10Outstanding
- 4.St Wilfrid's Church of England AcademyBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary7.4/10Good
- 5.St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, BlackburnBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary7.3/10
- 6.Queen Elizabeth's Grammar SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary5.9/10Good
- 7.Darwen Vale High SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary3.4/10Good
- 8.Blackburn Central High SchoolBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary2.9/10Good
- 9.Witton Park AcademyBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary2.6/10Good
- 10.Darwen Aldridge Community AcademyBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary1.6/10
- 11.Darwen Aldridge Enterprise StudioBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary1.4/10Good
- 12.Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyBlackburn with Darwen · Secondary0.1/10Requires improvement
Browse all 88 schools in Blackburn with Darwen — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in Blackburn with Darwen
- How many schools are there in Blackburn with Darwen?
- Blackburn with Darwen has 88 open schools — 56 primary, 13 secondary, 3 special, 4 nursery, teaching 29,750 pupils in total.
- How many schools in Blackburn with Darwen are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 67 of the 70 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 96% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 6 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 88: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in Blackburn with Darwen?
- 5.0 out of 10, averaged across the 83 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some Blackburn with Darwen schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 18 schools in Blackburn with Darwen currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does Blackburn with Darwen local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Blackburn with Darwen covers 88 schools and sits in the North West region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in Blackburn with Darwen are eligible for free school meals?
- 27.6% — 7,664 of 27,759 pupils at the 76 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the North West region.