Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary
Ellison Fold Terrace, Darwen, BB3 3EB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ALDRIDGE EDUCATION
- Principal
- Principal Jenna Harty
- Sponsor
- Aldridge Education
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 167
- URN
- 141838
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254703440
About this school
Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary is a primary academy in Darwen. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 167 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary, 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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
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 | 24 | 22 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 28% | 13% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 31% | 33% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 45% | 63% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 31% | 50% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 99.0 | 97.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 97.0 | 102.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.50 | - | - |
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 Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary 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 | 28% | 57.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 13% | 57.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 160 |
| 2023/24 | 154 |
| 2024/25 | 160 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary compares
Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary ranked 24th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 7.9% | 45.6% | 167 | — |
| Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 43% | 6.2% | 33.9% | 240 | 0.4 miles |
| Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy | 37% | 7.5% | 54.6% | 203 | 0.4 miles |
| Holy Trinity VC School | 62% | 7% | 58.7% | 119 | 0.6 miles |
| St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen | 70% | 5% | 16.8% | 165 | 0.7 miles |
| Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School | 41% | 3.7% | 1.9% | 237 | 1.0 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report17 March 2026
- 6 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.63%
- English as an additional language
- 29.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.87%
- Persistent absence
- 31.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Holy Trinity VC School0.6 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen0.7 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Darwen
Other schools in Darwen
Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary ranks 6th of the 14 ranked primary schools in Darwen.
- Ashleigh Primary School Primary
- Avondale Primary School 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 Cuthbert's Church of England 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 Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary teach?
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Darwen.
- Who is the principal of Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary?
- The principal of Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary is Principal Jenna Harty, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary, 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 Aldridge Sudell Primary?
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary has 167 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary full?
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary has capacity for 210 pupils and 167 on roll (80%), 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 Aldridge Sudell Primary a faith school?
- No. Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary has no designated religious character.
- Does Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary as having no nursery classes.
- Is Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary part of an academy trust?
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary 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 Aldridge Sudell Primary's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 28% in 2022/23 and 64% 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 Aldridge Sudell Primary compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary ranked 24th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% 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 Aldridge Sudell Primary's absence rate?
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary'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 2 July 2026.