St Matthew's Church of England Primary School

About St Matthew's Church of England Primary School

St Matthew’s Church of England Primary School sits within the Blackburn with Darwen local authority, where it ranks 35th out of 52 primary schools on the key stage 2 expected standard measure. That places it in the bottom half of the LA, with a score of 54 compared to the local average of 59. The top-performing peers in the area are The Olive School, Blackburn, followed by Blackburn the Redeemer CofE Primary and St Gabriel’s Church of England Primary School, all of which post significantly higher ranking scores. For families weighing up options in this corner of the North West, St Matthew’s is a solidly mid-table choice — not the highest-achieving in the borough, but one that has shown clear improvement in its most recent Ofsted inspection. The school is a state-funded, mixed-gender primary for children aged 4 to 11, with a Church of England character and headteacher Julian Rogers at the helm. It currently has 271 pupils on roll, just shy of its capacity of 280, and 30.3 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals.

Academically, the most recent key stage 2 results from 2023/24 show that 54 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — five points below the LA average of 59 per cent. Only 3 per cent achieved the higher standard across all three subjects. In individual subjects, reading and maths both produced an average scaled score of 105, while 67 per cent met the expected standard in reading, 64 per cent in maths, and 59 per cent in writing. The school’s Ofsted history tells a story of progress: it was rated Requires Improvement in 2014, but its graded inspection in July 2016 lifted it to Good, and a subsequent ungraded inspection in July 2021 confirmed it remains Good. Leadership and management, early years provision, and behaviour and attitudes were all judged Good in that 2016 inspection. There is no progress score data available for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

The school offers a range of facilities including an ICT suite, library, sensory room, playing fields, music rooms and a chapel. Sports provision covers tennis, athletics, cricket and dance, while extracurricular clubs include film, coding, chess, gardening, eco club and choir. SEND support is listed for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and other difficulties. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: 30 first-preference applications were made for 35 total places, with 73 applications overall and an oversubscription ratio of 2.09. That suggests it is a popular local option, though not fiercely competitive. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Wensley Fold CofE Primary Academy, 2.3 km away. St Matthew’s would suit families who value a Church of England setting, a broad range of clubs and SEND provision, and a school that has stabilised at Good after a previous Requires Improvement rating.

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