St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School
St Albans Road, Darwen, BB3 0HY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emily Coolican
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- SEN provision
- MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 225
- Pupils on roll
- 184
- URN
- 119615
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254701336
About this school
St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Darwen. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 184 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Cuthbert's Church of England 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 32 | 34 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 25% | 32% | 38% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 47% | 50% | 55% |
| Expected standard in maths | 47% | 47% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 47% | 53% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 101.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 100.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -6.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.40 | - | - |
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 Cuthbert'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 | Blackburn with Darwen average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 25% | 57.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 32% | 57.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 38% | 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 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 215 |
| 2023/24 | 220 |
| 2024/25 | 195 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School compares
St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School ranked 48th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% 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 | 38% | 5.8% | 33.3% | 184 | — |
| St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | 70% | 4.5% | 18.4% | 198 | 0.3 miles |
| Avondale Primary School | 72% | 4.2% | 27.9% | 400 | 0.3 miles |
| Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy | 37% | 7.5% | 54.6% | 203 | 0.9 miles |
| Holy Trinity VC School | 62% | 7% | 58.7% | 119 | 1.0 miles |
| Lower Darwen Primary School | 41% | 6.2% | 17.7% | 382 | 1.1 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)
- 33.33%
- English as an additional language
- 8.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.83%
- Persistent absence
- 15.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Avondale Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Holy Trinity VC School1.0 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Lower Darwen Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Darwen
Other schools in Darwen
St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School ranks 12th of the 14 ranked primary schools in Darwen.
- Ashleigh Primary School Primary
- Avondale Primary School Primary
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary Primary
- Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity VC School Primary
- Lower Darwen Primary School Primary
- St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School teach?
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Darwen.
- Who is the headteacher of St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School is Mrs Emily Coolican, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Cuthbert'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 many pupils are at St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School?
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School has 184 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School full?
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School has capacity for 225 pupils and 184 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 Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School have?
- The schools register lists St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School's special educational needs provision as: MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Cuthbert'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 25% in 2022/23 and 38% 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 Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School ranked 48th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% 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 Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Cuthbert'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.