St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn
Bennington Street, Blackburn, BB2 3HP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs A Thomson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Blackburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 203
- URN
- 119513
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254698301
About this school
St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 203 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 13 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 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 72% | 70% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 7% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 79% | 73% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 87% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 73% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.30 | - | - |
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 St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic 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 | 72% | 57.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 57.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 211 |
| 2023/24 | 207 |
| 2024/25 | 204 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn compares
St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn ranked 25th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 5% | 31.4% | 203 | — |
| Audley Junior School | 73% | 4.9% | 30.9% | 392 | 0.3 miles |
| Audley Infant School | — | 5.5% | 16% | 280 | 0.3 miles |
| St Matthew's Church of England Primary School | 53% | 4.6% | 31% | 258 | 0.4 miles |
| Longshaw Community Junior School | 67% | 5.2% | 59.7% | 334 | 0.6 miles |
| Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary School | 72% | 6.3% | 23.3% | 464 | 0.7 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)
- 31.37%
- English as an additional language
- 41.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.96%
- Persistent absence
- 12.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Audley Junior School0.3 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Audley Infant School0.3 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Matthew's Church of England Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Longshaw Community Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Blackburn
Other schools in Blackburn
St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn ranks 26th 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 ages does St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn teach?
- St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn?
- The headteacher of St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn is Mrs A Thomson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic 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 many pupils are at St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn?
- St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn has 203 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn full?
- St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn has capacity for 210 pupils and 203 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Does St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 72% in 2022/23 and 63% 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 Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn ranked 25th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% 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 Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn's absence rate?
- St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic 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.