Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy
Primary schoolDarwen St James CofE Primary Academy is a primary school in Blackburn with Darwen, for pupils aged 3 to 11. It had 203 pupils at the school census in January 2026.
Ofsted
Latest inspections as at 30 September 2026Graded inspection, July 2025: no overall grade
- Inspection
- Graded inspection, 9 July 2025
- Overall effectiveness
- No overall grade (from September 2024)
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
Outcomes as Ofsted published them. Report cards (from November 2025) give no overall grade, and grades under different frameworks can’t be compared.
Results
Department for EducationIn 2024/25, 37% of pupils at Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 63% in Blackburn with Darwen and 62% in England.
0% reached the higher standard (8% in England).
End of primary school (KS2)
2024/25| Measure | This school | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 37% | 63% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard | 0% | 6% | 8% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 99 | 105 | 106 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100 | 105 | 105 |
- Progress scores from KS1 to KS2 were not published for 2024/25, because the KS1 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
In a straight line- Darwen Aldridge Sudell PrimaryPrimary. Report card, March 2026: safeguarding met. 64% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)680 m
- Aldridge UTC DarwenSecondary. Report card, January 2026: safeguarding met. Attainment 8 of 31.7 (2025/26, provisional)800 m
- Darwen Aldridge Community AcademySecondary. Graded inspection, May 2025: no overall grade. Attainment 8 of 36.8 (2025/26, provisional)840 m
- Holy Trinity VC SchoolPrimary. Graded inspection, March 2025: no overall grade. 62% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)880 m
- Turncroft Nursery SchoolNursery. Standards maintained, May 2025950 m
- Avondale Primary SchoolPrimary. School remains Good, July 2023. 72% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1.1 km
Admissions and catchments are set by councils and schools, which Open Index doesn’t map. Every school in Blackburn with Darwen
Where these figures come from
- Schools: the school lists of the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government, with Ofsted’s latest inspections for England.
- Results: the Department for Education’s school performance tables (Open Government Licence).