Ashleigh Primary School
Ross Street, Darwen, BB3 2JT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Matthews
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 220
- URN
- 119200
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254703171
About this school
Ashleigh Primary School is a foundation primary school in Darwen. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 220 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ashleigh Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 2 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 35 | 34 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 66% | 74% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 6% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 79% | 66% |
| Expected standard in maths | 74% | 88% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 91% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Ashleigh Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Blackburn with Darwen average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 66% | 57.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 57.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 224 |
| 2023/24 | 215 |
| 2024/25 | 212 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ashleigh Primary School compares
Ashleigh Primary School ranked 21st of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 3.9% | 15.1% | 220 | — |
| Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy | 65% | 3.7% | 10.2% | 207 | 0.4 miles |
| St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen | 70% | 5% | 16.8% | 165 | 0.6 miles |
| Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 43% | 6.2% | 33.9% | 240 | 0.7 miles |
| Holy Trinity VC School | 62% | 7% | 58.7% | 119 | 0.9 miles |
| Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary | 64% | 7.9% | 45.6% | 167 | 1.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.09%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.9%
- Persistent absence
- 7.77%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen0.6 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Holy Trinity VC School0.9 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary1.1 miles
Primary · Darwen
Other schools in Darwen
Ashleigh Primary School ranks 4th of the 14 ranked primary schools in Darwen.
- Avondale Primary School Primary
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary Primary
- Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity VC School Primary
- Lower Darwen Primary School Primary
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ashleigh Primary School teach?
- Ashleigh Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Darwen.
- Who is the headteacher of Ashleigh Primary School?
- The headteacher of Ashleigh Primary School is Mr Ian Matthews, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ashleigh Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ashleigh Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Ashleigh Primary School?
- Ashleigh Primary School has 220 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Ashleigh Primary School full?
- Ashleigh Primary School has capacity for 236 pupils and 220 on roll (93%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ashleigh Primary School a faith school?
- No. Ashleigh Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Ashleigh Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Ashleigh Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Ashleigh Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 66% in 2022/23 and 66% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ashleigh Primary School compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- Ashleigh Primary School ranked 21st of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ashleigh Primary School's absence rate?
- Ashleigh Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ashleigh Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ashleigh Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.