Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Ash Street, Great Harwood, Blackburn, BB6 7QA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Irvine
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Hyndburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 180
- URN
- 119420
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254884534
About this school
Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 180 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 28 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 52% | 75% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 4% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 86% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 86% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 86% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.30 | - | - |
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 Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 201 |
| 2023/24 | 172 |
| 2024/25 | 174 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School compares
Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School ranked 268th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 4% | 32.3% | 180 | — |
| St Hubert's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood | 54% | 3.9% | 11.5% | 137 | 0.5 miles |
| St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood | 27% | 5% | 33.8% | 135 | 0.5 miles |
| Great Harwood Primary School | 52% | 6.5% | 43.9% | 210 | 0.5 miles |
| Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School | 44% | 5.7% | 45.1% | 158 | 0.5 miles |
| Clayton-le-Moors All Saints' Church of England Primary School | 78% | 4.2% | 17.6% | 267 | 1.3 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)
- 32.34%
- English as an additional language
- 8%
- Overall absence
- 4.04%
- Persistent absence
- 9.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Hubert's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood0.5 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood0.5 miles
Primary · Great Harwood
-
Great Harwood Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Clayton-le-Moors All Saints' Church of England Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Accrington
Other schools in Blackburn
Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School ranks 34th 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 John's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School teach?
- Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
- The headteacher of Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is Mrs Sarah Irvine, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
- Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has 180 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School full?
- Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 180 on roll (86%), 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 Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 52% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School ranked 268th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's absence rate?
- Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided 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.