Darwen Vale High School
Blackburn Road, Darwen, BB3 0AL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ALDRIDGE EDUCATION
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jessica Giraud
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Aldridge Education
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,039
- URN
- 141321
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254223000
About this school
Darwen Vale High School is a secondary academy in Darwen. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,039 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Darwen Vale High School, 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 158 | 192 | 218 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.9 | 42.5 | 43.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.37 to +0.07 | -0.29 -0.50 to -0.08 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 43.2% | 40.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 57.8% | 57.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 10% | 15.6% | 10.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
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 Darwen Vale High 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 | 43.9 | 43.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.5 | 43.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.1 | 44.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,044 |
| 2023/24 | 1,078 |
| 2024/25 | 1,071 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Darwen Vale High School compares
Darwen Vale High School ranked 7th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.1 | 10.2% | 33.2% | 1,039 | — |
| Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio | 34.7 | 18.2% | 47.1% | 275 | 1.3 miles |
| Darwen Aldridge Community Academy | 36.5 | 11.1% | 36.8% | 1,036 | 1.5 miles |
| Blackburn Central High School | 41 | 8% | 41% | 1,015 | 1.6 miles |
| Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy | 37.2 | 13.8% | 47.7% | 770 | 1.9 miles |
| Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School | 62.5 | 2.5% | 17.3% | 746 | 2.0 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)
- 33.15%
- English as an additional language
- 4.8%
- Overall absence
- 10.15%
- Persistent absence
- 29.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio1.3 miles
Secondary · Darwen
-
Darwen Aldridge Community Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Darwen
-
Blackburn Central High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
Other schools in Darwen
- Darwen Aldridge Community Academy Secondary
- Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio Secondary
- Turncroft Nursery School Nursery
- 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
Common questions
- What ages does Darwen Vale High School teach?
- Darwen Vale High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Darwen.
- Who is the headteacher of Darwen Vale High School?
- The headteacher of Darwen Vale High School is Mrs Jessica Giraud, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Darwen Vale High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Darwen Vale High 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 Darwen Vale High School?
- Darwen Vale High School has 1,039 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Darwen Vale High School full?
- Darwen Vale High School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,039 on roll (87%), 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 Darwen Vale High School a faith school?
- No. Darwen Vale High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Darwen Vale High School a selective school?
- No. Darwen Vale High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Darwen Vale High School part of an academy trust?
- Darwen Vale High School is part of ALDRIDGE EDUCATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Darwen Vale High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.9 in 2022/23 and 43.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Darwen Vale High School compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- Darwen Vale High School ranked 7th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Darwen Vale High School's absence rate?
- Darwen Vale High School's overall absence rate is 10.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Darwen Vale High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Darwen Vale High 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 1 July 2026.