St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn

About St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn

St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn was rated Good in its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, with leadership and management judged Outstanding. That's a significant step up from its previous inspection in 2009, when the school was graded Requires Improvement. On the most revealing exam metric available, 52% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits below the local authority average of 59% for primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen, and places the school 36th out of 52 primaries in the area. Just 7% of pupils reached the higher standard in all three subjects. The school's overall ranking score of 52 puts it in the bottom half nationally, though it's worth noting that the school serves a community where 18.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average.

Looking more closely at the individual subject results, reading and maths both produced average scaled scores of 104 and 105 respectively, which are in line with national expectations. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in writing was 80%, in maths 77%, and in reading 64%. At the higher standard, 23% achieved that level in maths and reading, but only 11% did so in writing. The school has held a Good rating across both its recent inspections, and the ungraded inspection in December 2022 confirmed it remains Good. For context, only four primary schools in the local authority are rated Outstanding, the nearest being Wensley Fold CofE Primary Academy, 1.9 kilometres away.

The school is oversubscribed: for 105 applications to 38 places in the 2025/26 intake, it offered 36 first-preference places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.76. Facilities include a library, dining hall, forest school, playing fields, sensory room and chapel. Sports on offer range from football and netball to gymnastics and cross country, while clubs include film, art, gardening, book club and choir. The school provides for a wide range of SEND needs, including moderate learning difficulty, speech and language communication needs, social and emotional mental health, visual impairment and physical disability. With nursery provision from age two, it suits families looking for a church school with strong leadership, a broad set of activities and a clear focus on supporting pupils with additional needs.

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