Lower Darwen Primary School
Primary · Community school · Ages 4–11 · Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen
Last distance offered · Reception 2026
Every applicant was offered a place
From Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council · offers on 16 April 2026
Lower Darwen Primary School is a primary school in Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen for ages 4–11 (community school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Good, from the inspection on 21 March 2023. Blackburn with Darwen has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2026 entry.
Lower Darwen Primary School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2026 | Every applicant was offered a place |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- In 2024/25, 41% met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of primary school (England 62%), and 0% reached the higher standard (England 8%).
- Every Reception applicant was offered a place in 2026, as at 29 of the 43 other Blackburn with Darwen primary schools with a published Reception 2026 outcome.
- Reception 2026 drew 36 first-choice applications for 44 offers; every first-choice family was offered a place, and 8 offers went to families who ranked it second or lower.
- 20.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, against a middle figure of 33.7% across the 8 nearest primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Blackburn with Darwen schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Milking Lane, Lower Darwen, Darwen, BB3 0RB
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 4–11
- Council
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Pupils on roll
- 382 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 20.4% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 21.8
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Good Inspected 21 March 2023
Strengths
- “Pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are happy to attend each day and they are proud of their school.”
- “They feel that they are supported well by their teachers and other staff.”
- “This helps them to feel safe in school.”
To improve
- “However, in a few subjects, leaders are not as clear about the building blocks of knowledge that pupils should learn.”
- “In these subjects, teachers are less confident to design learning that supports pupils to build securely on their prior knowledge.”
- “That said, in a few subjects, some teachers have not received sufficient training to deliver some aspects of the curriculum with confidence.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 19 May 2023 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| Key stage 2 · reading, writing and maths, expected standard (2024/25) | 41% | 62% |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 36 first-preference applications, 44 offers in total, 36 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in Blackburn with Darwen.
- St James' Church of England Primary School 0.4 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn 0.6 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy 0.7 mi No Ofsted grade
- Longshaw Infant School 0.8 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Blackburn the Redeemer CofE Primary 0.9 mi Not judged Last distance published
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School 1.1 mi Requires improvement Last distance published
- Longshaw Community Junior School 1.1 mi School remains Good
- Avondale Primary School 1.2 mi School remains Good Last distance published