Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy

About Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy

Our Lady and St John RC High School is a Roman Catholic secondary for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 in Blackburn with Darwen. It is almost at full capacity with 812 pupils against a school capacity of 821, and its intake reflects a significantly higher-than-average level of disadvantage: 44.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared with the national secondary average of around 24%. Demand for places is strong — for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 189 applications for 144 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.31. Of those, 96 were first-preference applications, and all 96 received an offer. The school does not have a sixth form, so pupils leave at 16. It is one of 13 state secondaries in the local authority, where only three schools currently hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating; the nearest of those is Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School, 2.4 km away.

Academically, the school is currently rated Requires Improvement by Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in May 2023. This is a decline from its previous inspection in October 2019, when it also received Requires Improvement overall but had stronger ratings in personal development and behaviour and attitudes, both of which were graded Good. In the 2023 inspection, every category — quality of education, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management — was judged to be Requires Improvement. The local authority average Progress 8 score is 0.05, which is broadly in line with the national average. Our Lady and St John’s own Progress 8 score is not included in the data, so it is not possible to say how its academic progress compares directly. The school’s top-performing local peers by ranking score are Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School (2.05) and Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School (1.26), both of which are significantly above average.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including science labs, a sports hall, art studios, tennis courts, playing fields, and a chapel. Its sports programme includes rugby, cricket, rowing, martial arts, and cross country, while extracurricular clubs cover art, drama, choir, coding, gardening, Young Enterprise, and an eco club. For pupils with additional needs, the school provides support for nine categories of special educational need, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language communication needs, and social, emotional and mental health difficulties. With no sixth form on site, families will need to plan for post-16 options elsewhere. The school is oversubscribed, so Catholic commitment and proximity are likely to be important factors in admissions. This is a school that serves a high-poverty community and is working to improve its Ofsted rating; it will suit families who value a faith-based environment and a wide range of activities, but who are comfortable with the school being in a period of transition.

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