St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn
Primary · Voluntary aided school · Ages 2–11 · Blackburn, 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
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn is a primary school in Blackburn, Blackburn with Darwen for ages 2–11 (voluntary aided school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 7 December 2022. Blackburn with Darwen has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2026 entry.
St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn 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
- 66% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25 (England 62%), while 2% reached the higher standard (England 8%).
- Every applicant was offered a Reception place in 2026, as at 29 of the 43 other Blackburn with Darwen primary schools with a published Reception 2026 outcome.
- For Reception 2026 there were 43 first-choice applications for 45 offers; every first-choice family was offered a place, and 2 offers went to families who ranked it second or lower.
- There are 17.2 pupils per teacher and free school meal eligibility is 21.8%, against middle figures of 21.9 and 18.9% 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
- Earl Street, Blackburn, BB1 8EG
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 2–11
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Council
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Pupils on roll
- 395 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 21.8% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.2
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 7 December 2022
Strengths
- “Pupils, including children in the early years, enjoy being part of a friendly learning community and they are happy at school.”
- “Staff greet pupils with a warm welcome as they arrive each morning.”
- “Pupils are helped to feel safe because of their friends and the trusting relationships that they have with staff.”
To improve
- “However, some older pupils do not have sufficient opportunity to practise their reading.”
- “Consequently, some pupils lose confidence and fluency in reading.”
- “However, despite leaders’ best efforts, the number of pupils who are regularly absent from school remains high.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 31 January 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) | 66% | 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: 43 first-preference applications, 45 offers in total, 43 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.
- Brookhouse Primary School 0.3 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- St Michael With St John CofE Primary School 0.4 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Cedars Primary School 0.4 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Queen Elizabeth's Primary School 0.5 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn 0.6 mi Not judged Last distance published
- St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn 0.7 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Lammack Primary School 0.8 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Daisyfield Primary School 0.8 mi Good Last distance published