St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn
Earl Street, Blackburn, BB1 8EG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Doug Stitcher
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Blackburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 480
- Pupils on roll
- 395
- URN
- 119502
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254698335
About this school
St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 395 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. 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 7 December 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 | 59 | 56 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 52% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 7% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 64% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 77% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 70% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
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 James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn 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 | 59% | 57.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 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 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 434 |
| 2023/24 | 439 |
| 2024/25 | 436 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn compares
St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn ranked 22nd 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 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 6.6% | 20.5% | 395 | — |
| Brookhouse Primary School | 80% | 4.4% | 16.8% | 247 | 0.3 miles |
| St Michael With St John CofE Primary School | 69% | 5.9% | 24.8% | 262 | 0.4 miles |
| Cedars Primary School | 70% | 6.2% | 19.6% | 407 | 0.4 miles |
| Queen Elizabeth's Primary School | 45% | 5.7% | 17.3% | 387 | 0.5 miles |
| St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn | 62% | 6.6% | 43.6% | 154 | 0.6 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)
- 20.48%
- English as an additional language
- 98.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.64%
- Persistent absence
- 20.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brookhouse Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Michael With St John CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Cedars Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Queen Elizabeth's Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn0.6 miles
Primary · Blackburn
Other schools in Blackburn
St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn ranks 24th 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 James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn teach?
- St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn?
- The headteacher of St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn is Mr Doug Stitcher, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn, 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 James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn?
- St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn has 395 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn full?
- St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn has capacity for 480 pupils and 395 on roll (82%), 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 James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn a faith school?
- Yes. St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn as having nursery classes.
- How have St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% 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 St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn rank locally?
- St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn ranked 22nd 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 29% 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 James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn's absence rate?
- St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn'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.