St Charles' RC School
Knowles Street, Rishton, Blackburn, BB1 4HT
This school is closed (it closed in December 2025).
It was replaced by St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy. That page has the school's current information.
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Ms Jemma Stuttard
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Hyndburn
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 146
- URN
- 119650
- Local authority
- Lancashire
About this school
St Charles' RC School was a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Blackburn. It taught children aged 4 to 11 and had 146 pupils on roll.
Ofsted did not inspect it under the current framework.
Ofsted judgement
St Charles' RC School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet.
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 | 29 | 22 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 62% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 3% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 63% | 76% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 60% | 72% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 69% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.10 | - | - |
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 Charles' RC 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 | 47% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 172 |
| 2023/24 | 161 |
| 2024/25 | 146 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Charles' RC School compares
Its KS2 result was higher than 30% 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 | 55% | 5% | 16.4% | 146 | — |
| St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | — | — | — | 161 | 0.0 miles |
| Rishton Methodist Primary School | 79% | 7.9% | 43.3% | 143 | 0.2 miles |
| Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School | 60% | 3.7% | 31% | 188 | 0.3 miles |
| Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School | 44% | 5.7% | 45.1% | 158 | 1.2 miles |
| St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood | 27% | 5% | 33.8% | 135 | 1.2 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)
- 16.44%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.96%
- Persistent absence
- 10.37%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.0 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Rishton Methodist Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood1.2 miles
Primary · Great Harwood
Other 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 Charles' RC School teach?
- St Charles' RC School taught children aged 4 to 11. It was a primary school in Blackburn.
- Has St Charles' RC School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected St Charles' RC School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How many pupils are at St Charles' RC School?
- St Charles' RC School had 146 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- How have St Charles' RC School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are St Charles' RC School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Charles' RC 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 31 December 2025.