Witton Park Academy
Buncer Lane, Blackburn, BB2 6TD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH COLLABORATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Martin Knowles
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Achievement Through Collaboration Trust
- Constituency
- Blackburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,230
- Pupils on roll
- 1,243
- URN
- 140879
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254264551
About this school
Witton Park Academy is a secondary academy in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,243 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Witton Park Academy, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 252 | 230 | 262 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.3 | 36.0 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.70 -0.88 to -0.52 | -0.70 -0.90 to -0.50 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 31.3% | 36.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% | 52.6% | 57.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 67% | 63.5% | 32.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Witton Park Academy 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 | 38.3 | 43.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 36 | 43.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 44.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,240 |
| 2023/24 | 1,252 |
| 2024/25 | 1,312 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Witton Park Academy compares
Witton Park Academy ranked 9th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.3 | 9.2% | 39.5% | 1,243 | — |
| St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy | 50.8 | 7.1% | 23.8% | 1,483 | 0.7 miles |
| Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School | 72.3 | 3% | 14% | 866 | 0.8 miles |
| Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School | 62.5 | 2.5% | 17.3% | 746 | 0.9 miles |
| Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School | 47 | 8% | 20.8% | 873 | 1.0 miles |
| St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn | 47.4 | 7.5% | 21% | 1,051 | 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 39.48%
- English as an additional language
- 65.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.16%
- Persistent absence
- 26.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School1.0 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn1.1 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
Other schools in Blackburn
Witton Park Academy ranks 8th of the 10 ranked secondary schools in Blackburn.
- Blackburn Central High School Secondary
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Pleckgate High School Secondary
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School Secondary
- St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn Secondary
- St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy Secondary
- Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School Secondary
- Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School Secondary
- The Hyndburn Academy Secondary
- Ashworth Nursery School Nursery
- Brunel Nursery School Nursery
- Longshaw Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does Witton Park Academy teach?
- Witton Park Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of Witton Park Academy?
- The headteacher of Witton Park Academy is Mr Martin Knowles, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Witton Park Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Witton Park Academy, 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 Witton Park Academy?
- Witton Park Academy has 1,243 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Witton Park Academy full?
- Witton Park Academy has capacity for 1,230 pupils and 1,243 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 Witton Park Academy a faith school?
- No. Witton Park Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Witton Park Academy a selective school?
- No. Witton Park Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Witton Park Academy part of an academy trust?
- Witton Park Academy is part of ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH COLLABORATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Witton Park Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.3 in 2022/23 and 40.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Witton Park Academy compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- Witton Park Academy ranked 9th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Witton Park Academy's absence rate?
- Witton Park Academy's overall absence rate is 9.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Witton Park Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Witton Park Academy'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 1 July 2026.