# Schools in Blackburn with Darwen

62 schools with published admissions figures

"1st preferences per place" is how many families named a school first, for each place it offered, in the newest year held. It describes demand. It is not a pass rate and it does not say whether a child would be offered a place. A dash means the figure is not held.

## How the 2026 round went

Counts families, not schools. The table below cannot be added up into these figures, because a child naming three schools appears in three of its rows.

### Primary

For September 2026, 89.2% of families applying for a primary place here were offered their first choice, and 97.9% were offered one of the three schools they named.

That is 3.8 points higher than in 2016, when it was 85.5%.

The council's primary schools between them had 2,256 places for 1,926 applications. That is a total for the whole council and says nothing about any one school in it.


### Secondary

For September 2026, 78.9% of families applying for a secondary place here were offered their first choice, and 94.1% were offered one of the three schools they named.

That is 4.2 points higher than in 2016, when it was 74.7%.

The council's secondary schools between them had 2,284 places for 2,116 applications. That is a total for the whole council and says nothing about any one school in it.


## If a family is refused a place

In 2026, families in Blackburn with Darwen lodged 209 appeals about a school place.

159 of them were heard by a panel and 23 succeeded, which is about 14 in every 100 heard.

The other 50 did not reach a panel. Most appeals that do not are withdrawn because a place comes up first.

This is a record of decisions already made. A panel hears one case at a time and decides it on what that family sets out, so these figures do not indicate what would happen in any particular appeal.

Source: Department for Education, admission appeals in England, reporting year 2026. Counts every school in this council area. The share that succeeded is taken over appeals heard by a panel, not over appeals lodged.

## Schools here running specialist SEN provision

3 of this council's published schools run a SEN unit or a resourced provision: teaching for children with special educational needs, on the same site as the rest of the school.

| School | Phase | What it runs |
|---|---|---|
| [Lower Darwen Primary School, Darwen](/school/119120/lower-darwen-primary-school) | primary | Resourced provision |
| [Shadsworth Infant School, Blackburn](/school/119220/shadsworth-infant-school) | primary | SEN unit |
| [St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy, Blackburn](/school/136900/st-wilfrid-s-church-of-england-academy) | secondary | Resourced provision |

This says a provision exists and nothing more. Neither how many children it takes nor which kinds of need it is set up for is published for a mainstream school, and it is not a statement about how well any school supports children with SEN. Ask the school or the council. Source: Department for Education, special educational needs in England.

## Primary

| School | 1st prefs per place | Latest Ofsted |
|---|---:|---|
| [Ashleigh Primary School (Darwen)](/school/119200/ashleigh-primary-school) | 0.94 | School remains Good |
| [Audley Infant School (Blackburn)](/school/119136/audley-infant-school) | 0.80 | School remains Good |
| [Avondale Primary School (Darwen)](/school/119294/avondale-primary-school) | 0.98 | School remains Good |
| [Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119355/blackburn-st-thomas-church-of-england-primary-school) | 1.18 | School remains Good |
| [Blackburn the Redeemer CofE Primary (Blackburn)](/school/133987/blackburn-the-redeemer-cofe-primary) | 1.00 | Not judged |
| [Brookhouse Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119344/brookhouse-primary-school) | 0.80 | School remains Good |
| [Cedars Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119222/cedars-primary-school) | 0.85 | Standards maintained |
| [Daisyfield Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119123/daisyfield-primary-school) | 1.10 | Good |
| [Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary (Darwen)](/school/141838/darwen-aldridge-sudell-primary) | 0.97 | Needs attention |
| [Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy (Darwen)](/school/140891/darwen-st-james-cofe-primary-academy) | 0.97 | Not judged |
| [Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School (DARWEN)](/school/119458/darwen-st-peter-s-church-of-england-primary-school) | 0.96 | Expected standard |
| [Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy (Darwen)](/school/141483/darwen-st-barnabas-cofe-primary-academy) | 0.81 | School remains Good |
| [Feniscowles Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119163/feniscowles-primary-school) | 1.15 | School remains Good |
| [Griffin Park Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119116/griffin-park-primary-school) | 0.93 | Good |
| [Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School (Darwen)](/school/119455/hoddlesden-st-paul-s-church-of-england-primary-school) | 1.34 | Not judged |
| [Holy Souls Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119517/holy-souls-roman-catholic-primary-school-blackburn) | 0.74 | Good |
| [Holy Trinity VC School (Darwen)](/school/119357/holy-trinity-vc-school) | - | Not judged |
| [Intack Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119118/intack-primary-school) | 0.83 | School remains Good |
| [Lammack Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119124/lammack-primary-school) | 0.97 | School remains Good |
| [Livesey Saint Francis' Church of England School (Blackburn)](/school/119423/livesey-saint-francis-church-of-england-school) | 0.88 | Good |
| [Longshaw Infant School (Blackburn)](/school/119125/longshaw-infant-school) | 0.95 | Expected standard |
| [Lower Darwen Primary School (Darwen)](/school/119120/lower-darwen-primary-school) | 0.82 | Good |
| [Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery (BLACKBURN)](/school/119122/meadowhead-community-infant-school-and-nursery) | 0.83 | School remains Good |
| [Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119512/our-lady-of-perpetual-succour-roman-catholic-primary-school-blackburn) | 1.00 | Strong standard |
| [Queen Elizabeth's Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/148834/queen-elizabeth-s-primary-school) | 0.75 | Expected standard |
| [Roe Lee Park Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119127/roe-lee-park-primary-school) | 0.89 | School remains Good |
| [Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119510/sacred-heart-roman-catholic-primary-school-blackburn) | 0.59 | Expected standard |
| [Shadsworth Infant School (Blackburn)](/school/119220/shadsworth-infant-school) | 0.84 | Not judged |
| [St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England Academy (Blackburn)](/school/141350/st-aidan-s-primary-school-a-church-of-england-academy) | 0.77 | Not judged |
| [St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119706/st-alban-s-roman-catholic-primary-school-blackburn) | 0.84 | Not judged |
| [St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119511/st-anne-s-roman-catholic-primary-school-blackburn) | 0.92 | Expected standard |
| [St Antony's RC Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119516/st-antony-s-rc-primary-school) | 1.40 | Standards maintained |
| [St Barnabas and St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119499/st-barnabas-and-st-paul-s-church-of-england-voluntary-aided-primary-school) | 0.90 | Good |
| [St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School (Darwen)](/school/119615/st-cuthbert-s-church-of-england-primary-school) | - | Requires improvement |
| [St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (Darwen)](/school/150080/st-edward-s-rc-primary-school-a-voluntary-academy) | 1.00 | School remains Good |
| [St Gabriel's Church of England Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119501/st-gabriel-s-church-of-england-primary-school) | 1.20 | Good |
| [St James' Church of England Primary School (Darwen)](/school/119503/st-james-church-of-england-primary-school) | 1.03 | Not judged |
| [St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119502/st-james-church-of-england-primary-school-blackburn) | 0.96 | School remains Good |
| [St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen (DARWEN)](/school/119667/st-joseph-s-roman-catholic-primary-school-darwen) | 0.88 | Standards maintained |
| [St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/140559/st-luke-and-st-philips-church-of-england-primary-school) | 0.89 | Not judged |
| [St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119513/st-mary-s-and-st-joseph-s-roman-catholic-primary-school-blackburn) | 1.10 | School remains Good |
| [St Matthew's Church of England Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119505/st-matthew-s-church-of-england-primary-school) | 0.86 | Needs attention |
| [St Michael With St John CofE Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119356/st-michael-with-st-john-cofe-primary-school) | 0.80 | School remains Good |
| [St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School, Feniscowles, Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119649/st-paul-s-roman-catholic-primary-school-feniscowles-blackburn) | 1.37 | Standards maintained |
| [St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119514/st-peter-s-roman-catholic-primary-school-blackburn) | 0.86 | Not judged |
| [St Silas's CofE Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/146541/st-silas-s-cofe-primary-school) | 0.62 | Good |
| [St Stephen's Church of England Primary School (Blackburn)](/school/119439/st-stephen-s-church-of-england-primary-school) | 0.94 | Good |
| [St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School (Darwen)](/school/119459/st-stephen-s-tockholes-cofe-primary-school) | - | Expected standard |
| [The Olive School, Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/139813/the-olive-school-blackburn) | 1.73 | Not judged |
| [Turton Belmont Community Primary School (Bolton)](/school/119201/turton-belmont-community-primary-school) | - | School remains Good |
| [Wensley Fold CofE Primary Academy (Blackburn)](/school/139514/wensley-fold-cofe-primary-academy) | 1.44 | Outstanding |

## Secondary

| School | 1st prefs per place | Latest Ofsted |
|---|---:|---|
| [Blackburn Central High School (Blackburn)](/school/146936/blackburn-central-high-school) | 0.76 | School remains Good |
| [Darwen Aldridge Community Academy (Darwen)](/school/135580/darwen-aldridge-community-academy) | 0.88 | Not judged |
| [Darwen Vale High School (Darwen)](/school/141321/darwen-vale-high-school) | 0.90 | Good |
| [Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy (Blackburn)](/school/150308/our-lady-and-st-john-rc-high-school-a-voluntary-academy) | 0.68 | Requires improvement |
| [Pleckgate High School (Blackburn)](/school/142088/pleckgate-high-school) | 1.06 | Outstanding |
| [Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (Blackburn)](/school/141165/queen-elizabeth-s-grammar-school) | 0.75 | Some aspects not as strong |
| [St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn (Blackburn)](/school/119793/st-bede-s-roman-catholic-high-school-blackburn) | 1.27 | Not judged |
| [St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy (Blackburn)](/school/136900/st-wilfrid-s-church-of-england-academy) | 1.16 | School remains Good |
| [Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School (Blackburn)](/school/138220/tauheedul-islam-boys-high-school) | 2.03 | Outstanding |
| [Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School (Blackburn)](/school/141565/tauheedul-islam-girls-high-school) | 2.08 | Outstanding |
| [Witton Park Academy (Blackburn)](/school/140879/witton-park-academy) | 0.31 | Needs attention |

Full page: /schools/blackburn-with-darwen
Figures from the Department for Education, Ofsted and local authorities; each school's own page lists its sources and dates.