Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School
Arundel Street, Rishton, Blackburn, BB1 4DT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sara Clarkson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Constituency
- Hyndburn
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 188
- URN
- 119427
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254884522
About this school
Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 188 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
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 | 29 | 30 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 60% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 3% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 67% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 69% | 73% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 67% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.30 | - | - |
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 Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England 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 | 62% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 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 | 3.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 177 |
| 2023/24 | 181 |
| 2024/25 | 171 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School compares
Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School ranked 250th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 3.7% | 31% | 188 | — |
| St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | — | — | — | 161 | 0.3 miles |
| Rishton Methodist Primary School | 79% | 7.9% | 43.3% | 143 | 0.4 miles |
| St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood | 27% | 5% | 33.8% | 135 | 1.0 miles |
| Great Harwood Primary School | 52% | 6.5% | 43.9% | 210 | 1.0 miles |
| Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School | 44% | 5.7% | 45.1% | 158 | 1.0 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)
- 30.99%
- English as an additional language
- 2.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.69%
- Persistent absence
- 8.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Rishton Methodist Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood1.0 miles
Primary · Great Harwood
-
Great Harwood Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Blackburn
Other schools in Blackburn
Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School ranks 29th 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 Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School teach?
- Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School is Mrs Sara Clarkson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England 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 Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School?
- Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School has 188 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School full?
- Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 188 on roll (90%), 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 Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 60% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School ranked 250th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England 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.