Most sought-after schools in Blackburn with Darwen

Ordered by how many families put the school first, for each place it gave out.

This list is sorted by one number: first preferences per place. For each school it is the number of families who named it first, divided by the number of offers it made, in the newest year we hold. A higher number means more families wanted a place than there were places.

This is not a list of the best schools. It does not measure how good a school is, how happy the children are, or how well they do. It also does not tell you whether a child would get a place: that depends on where you live, the year, and the council's rules. It only shows how many people applied.

#	School	First preferences per place	Newest intake	Latest Ofsted
1	Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School Blackburn, secondary	2.08	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School Blackburn, secondary	2.03	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
3	The Olive School, Blackburn Blackburn, primary	1.73	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
4	Wensley Fold CofE Primary Academy Blackburn, primary	1.44	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	St Antony's RC Primary School Blackburn, primary	1.40	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
6	St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School, Feniscowles, Blackburn Blackburn, primary	1.37	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
7	Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School Darwen, primary	1.34	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
8	St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn Blackburn, secondary	1.27	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
9	St Gabriel's Church of England Primary School Blackburn, primary	1.20	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Blackburn, primary	1.18	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
11	St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy Blackburn, secondary	1.16	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
12	Feniscowles Primary School Blackburn, primary	1.15	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
13	Daisyfield Primary School Blackburn, primary	1.10	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
14	St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Blackburn, primary	1.10	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
15	Pleckgate High School Blackburn, secondary	1.06	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	St James' Church of England Primary School Darwen, primary	1.03	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
17	Blackburn the Redeemer CofE Primary Blackburn, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
18	Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Blackburn, primary	1.00	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
19	St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Darwen, primary	1.00	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
20	Avondale Primary School Darwen, primary	0.98	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
21	Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary Darwen, primary	0.97	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
22	Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Darwen, primary	0.97	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	Lammack Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
24	Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School DARWEN, primary	0.96	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
25	St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn Blackburn, primary	0.96	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
26	Longshaw Infant School Blackburn, primary	0.95	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
27	Ashleigh Primary School Darwen, primary	0.94	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
28	St Stephen's Church of England Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
29	Griffin Park Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.93	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
30	St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Blackburn, primary	0.92	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
31	Darwen Vale High School Darwen, secondary	0.90	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
32	St Barnabas and St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.90	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
33	Roe Lee Park Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.89	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
34	St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.89	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
35	Darwen Aldridge Community Academy Darwen, secondary	0.88	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
36	Livesey Saint Francis' Church of England School Blackburn, primary	0.88	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
37	St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen DARWEN, primary	0.88	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
38	St Matthew's Church of England Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.86	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
39	St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Blackburn Blackburn, primary	0.86	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
40	Cedars Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.85	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
41	Shadsworth Infant School Blackburn, primary	0.84	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
42	St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Blackburn, primary	0.84	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
43	Intack Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.83	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
44	Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery BLACKBURN, primary	0.83	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
45	Lower Darwen Primary School Darwen, primary	0.82	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
46	Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Darwen, primary	0.81	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
47	Audley Infant School Blackburn, primary	0.80	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
48	Brookhouse Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.80	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
49	St Michael With St John CofE Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.80	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
50	St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England Academy Blackburn, primary	0.77	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
51	Blackburn Central High School Blackburn, secondary	0.76	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
52	Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School Blackburn, secondary	0.75	2026	Some aspects not as strong (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
53	Queen Elizabeth's Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.75	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
54	Holy Souls Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Blackburn, primary	0.74	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
55	Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Blackburn, secondary	0.68	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
56	St Silas's CofE Primary School Blackburn, primary	0.62	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
57	Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Blackburn, primary	0.59	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
58	Witton Park Academy Blackburn, secondary	0.31	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 58 schools in Blackburn with Darwen have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Blackburn with Darwen · How we compare schools.