St Michael With St John CofE Primary School
Swallow Drive, Blackburn, BB1 6LE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Murphy
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Constituency
- Blackburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 262
- URN
- 119356
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254665190
About this school
St Michael With St John CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 262 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 19 October 2022, 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 | 45 | 43 | 42 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 67% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 5% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 79% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 81% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 88% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| 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 St Michael With St John CofE 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 | 60% | 57.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 57.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 300 |
| 2023/24 | 287 |
| 2024/25 | 282 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Michael With St John CofE Primary School compares
St Michael With St John CofE Primary School ranked 18th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 5.9% | 24.8% | 262 | — |
| St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn | 62% | 6.6% | 43.6% | 154 | 0.3 miles |
| St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn | 66% | 6.6% | 20.5% | 395 | 0.4 miles |
| Brookhouse Primary School | 80% | 4.4% | 16.8% | 247 | 0.4 miles |
| St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn | 59% | 4.7% | 35.2% | 214 | 0.4 miles |
| St Matthew's Church of England Primary School | 53% | 4.6% | 31% | 258 | 0.5 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)
- 24.82%
- English as an additional language
- 77%
- Overall absence
- 5.87%
- Persistent absence
- 17.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn0.3 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn0.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Brookhouse Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn0.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Matthew's Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Blackburn
Other schools in Blackburn
St Michael With St John CofE Primary School ranks 21st of the 49 ranked primary schools in Blackburn.
- Audley Infant School Primary
- Audley Junior School Primary
- Balderstone St Leonard's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Belthorn Academy Primary School Primary
- Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackburn the Redeemer CofE Primary Primary
- Brookhouse Primary School Primary
- Cedars Primary School Primary
- Daisyfield Primary School Primary
- Feniscowles Primary School Primary
- Great Harwood Primary School Primary
- Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Michael With St John CofE Primary School teach?
- St Michael With St John CofE Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of St Michael With St John CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Michael With St John CofE Primary School is Mrs Sarah Murphy, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Michael With St John CofE Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Michael With St John CofE 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 big is St Michael With St John CofE Primary School?
- St Michael With St John CofE Primary School has 262 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Michael With St John CofE Primary School full?
- St Michael With St John CofE Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 262 on roll (83%), 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 St Michael With St John CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Michael With St John CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does St Michael With St John CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Michael With St John CofE Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Michael With St John CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 69% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Michael With St John CofE Primary School rank locally?
- St Michael With St John CofE Primary School ranked 18th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Michael With St John CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St Michael With St John CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Michael With St John CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Michael With St John CofE 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.