# Darwen Aldridge Community Academy

Darwen Aldridge Community Academy is a secondary school in Blackburn with Darwen, for pupils aged 11 to 19.

It had 1,036 pupils at the school census in January 2026.

Secondary school. Code E135580. [Blackburn with Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/blackburn-with-darwen)

- Phase: Secondary
- Type: Academy sponsor led
- Ages: 11 to 19
- Pupils: 1,036
- Council: Blackburn with Darwen
- URN: 135580

## Latest Ofsted outcome

Graded inspection, May 2025: no overall grade
- Inspection: Graded inspection, 20 May 2025
- Overall effectiveness: No overall grade (from September 2024)
- Quality of education: Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes: Good
- Personal development: Good
- Leadership and management: Good
Edition: Latest inspections as at 30 September 2026
Outcomes as Ofsted published them. Report cards (from November 2025) give no overall grade, and grades under different frameworks cannot be compared.

## Results

Source: Department for Education school performance tables (Open Government Licence).

In 2025/26, the average Attainment 8 score at Darwen Aldridge Community Academy was 36.8, against 44.1 in Blackburn with Darwen and 46.2 in England.
21.4% of its pupils got grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs (46.3% in England).

### End of secondary school (KS4, GCSEs): 2025/26, provisional

| Measure | This school | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Average Attainment 8 score | 36.8 | 44.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 21.4% | 43.3% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46.4% | 60.3% | 64.8% |
| Pupils at the end of KS4 | 168 | – | – |

The 2025/26 figures are provisional. The Department for Education publishes revised ones later in the school year.
Progress 8 cannot be worked out for 2025/26, because the KS2 tests that give the starting point were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
Results reflect the pupils a school admits as well as its teaching, and a year's results can move a lot in a small school.

## Schools nearby

Distances are in a straight line. Admissions and catchments are set by councils and schools.

- [Turncroft Nursery School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/turncroft-nursery-school-e119099): 300 m. Nursery. Standards maintained, May 2025
- [Holy Trinity VC School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/holy-trinity-vc-school-e119357): 420 m. Primary. Graded inspection, March 2025: no overall grade. 62% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/darwen-st-peters-church-of-england-primary-school-e119458): 510 m. Primary. Report card, May 2026: safeguarding met. 43% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary](https://openindex.co.uk/school/darwen-aldridge-sudell-primary-e141838): 540 m. Primary. Report card, March 2026: safeguarding met. 64% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [Aldridge UTC Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/school/aldridge-utc-darwen-e139924): 570 m. Secondary. Report card, January 2026: safeguarding met. Attainment 8 of 31.7 (2025/26, provisional)
- [St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/school/st-josephs-roman-catholic-primary-school-darwen-e119667): 680 m. Primary. Standards maintained, January 2025. 70% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)

## Sources and further information

- [Schools: methods, licences and inspection sources](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/schools)
- [Get Information about Schools](https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/135580)
- [Ofsted reports](https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/135580)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/school/darwen-aldridge-community-academy-e135580, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/school/darwen-aldridge-community-academy-e135580#sc-results.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/school/darwen-aldridge-community-academy-e135580