A town in Blackburn with Darwen
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. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Blackburn at a glance
How Blackburn'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.
43 mainstream schools in Blackburn, 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.
85 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
9 mainstream schools in Blackburn, 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
40 in Blackburn, 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.
9 in Blackburn, 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
2 in Blackburn. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
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.
Blackburn, BB1 2PW · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
8 in Blackburn. 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
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.
Blackburn, BB1 5NQ · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16 · Girls
Independent school. Results close to the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1647.0
England 46.2
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.
Schools in Blackburn sit in 2 council areas. Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every Blackburn school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 34 inspected are Good or better.
40nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 64% met the standard at 11.
49schools
Ages 11 to 16
3 Outstanding, 3 Good, 1 need to improve. 49% got grade 5 in English and maths.
19schools
The one inspected is Good or better. About 8 pupils per teacher.
2schools
Here's how Blackburn's schools break down by type, faith and more.
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.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
BlackburnEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 26 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
6 of the 7 with a grade.
86%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
64%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
49%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
27%
Latest graded inspection for the 43 schools that have one.
98%
Good or Outstanding
Blackburn in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Blackburn has 104 schools and nurseries.
There are 5% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
27% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Blackburn'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.
Blackburn27%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Blackburn has 104 schools, including 49 primary schools, 19 secondary schools, 40 nurseries, 8 independent schools, 2 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 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.
98% of inspected schools in Blackburn hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 5 schools rated Outstanding and 37 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Blackburn, 64% 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 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 is 17.9%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 22,831 pupils enrolled across schools in Blackburn, with 12,816 in primary and 9,809 in secondary. 27.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 8 independent schools in Blackburn. 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 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 104 schools in Blackburn 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.
