Darwen Vale High School
Secondary schoolDarwen Vale High School is a secondary school in Blackburn with Darwen, for pupils aged 11 to 16. It had 1,039 pupils at the school census in January 2026.
Ofsted
Latest inspections as at 30 September 2026Good (overall), January 2024
- Inspection
- Graded inspection, 30 January 2024
- Overall effectiveness
- Good
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
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 2025/26, the average Attainment 8 score at Darwen Vale High School was 39.0, against 44.1 in Blackburn with Darwen and 46.2 in England.
28.2% 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 | 39.0 | 44.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28.2% | 43.3% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 60.3% | 64.8% |
| Pupils at the end of KS4 | 163 | – | – |
- 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
In a straight line- Lower Darwen Primary SchoolPrimary. Good (overall), March 2023. 41% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)470 m
- St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyPrimary. School remains Good, January 2020. 70% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)970 m
- St James' Church of England Primary SchoolPrimary. Graded inspection, October 2024: no overall grade. 50% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1 km
- Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnPrimary. Report card, May 2026: safeguarding met. 79% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1.4 km
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary SchoolPrimary. Requires improvement (overall), May 2024. 38% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1.4 km
- Darwen St James CofE Primary AcademyPrimary. Graded inspection, July 2025: no overall grade. 37% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1.6 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).