A council (local authority) in the North West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Blackburn with Darwen at a glance
How Blackburn with Darwen's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
56 mainstream schools in Blackburn with Darwen, best first
Results well above the England average.
156 first choices, 90 offers made
Met the standard at 1198%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
60 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1185%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
40 first choices, 28 offers made
Met the standard at 1186%
England 62%
12 mainstream schools in Blackburn with Darwen, best first
Results well above the England average.
250 first choices, 120 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1668.7
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
233 first choices, 115 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1662.6
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
281 first choices, 265 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.8
England 46.2
51 in Blackburn with Darwen, highest Ofsted grade first
Blackburn, BB2 4SR · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Blackburn, BB1 5PE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Blackburn, BB2 4NT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
13 in Blackburn with Darwen, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
250 first choices, 120 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1668.7
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
233 first choices, 115 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1662.6
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
293 first choices, 252 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.8
England 46.2
5 in Blackburn with Darwen. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Lancashire, BB3 2NG · Independent · Secondary · Ages 10 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Darwen, BB3 1HZ · Academy · All-through · Ages 5 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Blackburn, BB2 4NW · All-through · Ages 8 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
11 in Blackburn with Darwen. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Blackburn, BB1 1TF · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16 · Girls
Independent school. Results well below the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1639.0
England 46.2
Lancashire, BB3 2NG · Independent · Secondary · Ages 10 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bb2 6hd · Independent · Primary · Ages 5 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority in the North West with 56 mainstream primary schools and 12 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Blackburn and Darwen. Faith schools are common, with 48 in the area, and they can put families of their faith first when they're full.
From Blackburn with Darwen council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
89.3%got their first-choice primary school in Blackburn with Darwen in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 122 of 151 councils. 97.9% got one of their top three.3.5% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
78.9%got their first-choice secondary school in Blackburn with Darwen in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 104 of 151 councils. 94.1% got one of their top three.4.4% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
15 of 63 primary appeals heard in Blackburn with Darwen succeeded in 2025. 8 of 96 secondary appeals heard in Blackburn with Darwen succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Blackburn with Darwen school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 42 inspected are Good or better.
51nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
97% Good or better. 63% met the standard at 11.
64schools
Ages 11 to 16
3 Outstanding, 4 Good, 1 need to improve. 43% got grade 5 in English and maths.
26schools
All 3 inspected are Good or better. About 8 pupils per teacher.
5schools
Here's how Blackburn with Darwen's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Blackburn with Darwen average, 45.
Average primary score
46Blackburn with Darwen 45
Average primary score
35Blackburn with Darwen 45
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
Blackburn with DarwenEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 33 primaries with one.
97%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
7 of the 8 with a grade.
88%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
63%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
43%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
26%
Latest graded inspection for the 54 schools that have one.
96%
Good or Outstanding
Blackburn with Darwen in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 96% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 63% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 44.1 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 19% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.2:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,004 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 89% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 51% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 21% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 39% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 27% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 889, ONS code E06000008.
Blackburn with Darwen has 135 schools and nurseries across 2 towns and villages, the biggest being Blackburn and Darwen.
There are 5% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
26% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Blackburn with Darwen's state schools each January.
Up 5% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Blackburn with Darwen26%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Blackburn with Darwen has 135 schools, including 64 primary schools, 26 secondary schools, 51 nurseries, 11 independent schools, 5 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Blackburn with Darwen on Eduscope are The Olive School, Blackburn, Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School, Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
96% of inspected schools in Blackburn with Darwen hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 6 schools rated Outstanding and 46 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen, 63% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Blackburn with Darwen is 18.2:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Blackburn with Darwen is 19.1%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 27,944 pupils enrolled across schools in Blackburn with Darwen, with 15,338 in primary and 12,342 in secondary. 27.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 11 independent schools in Blackburn with Darwen. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Blackburn with Darwen on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 135 schools in Blackburn with Darwen by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
