Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy
North Road, Blackburn, BB1 1PY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ROMERO CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Wright
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Sponsor
- Romero Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Blackburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 821
- Pupils on roll
- 770
- URN
- 150308
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Telephone
- 01254588388
About this school
Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 770 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy, 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
This inspection took place when the school was registered as Our Lady and St John Catholic College (URN 119790).
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 178 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.2 |
| Progress 8 score | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 22.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 42.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 |
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 Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 821 |
| 2024/25 | 812 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy compares
Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 10th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37.2 | 13.8% | 47.7% | 770 | — |
| Blackburn Central High School | 41 | 8% | 41% | 1,015 | 0.7 miles |
| Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School | 62.5 | 2.5% | 17.3% | 746 | 1.5 miles |
| St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy | 50.8 | 7.1% | 23.8% | 1,483 | 1.7 miles |
| Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School | 47 | 8% | 20.8% | 873 | 1.9 miles |
| Darwen Vale High School | 43.1 | 10.2% | 33.2% | 1,039 | 1.9 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)
- 47.66%
- English as an additional language
- 34.4%
- Overall absence
- 13.77%
- Persistent absence
- 40.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Blackburn Central High School0.7 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School1.9 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Darwen Vale High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Darwen
Other schools in Blackburn
Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranks 10th of the 10 ranked secondary schools in Blackburn.
- Blackburn Central High School 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
- Witton Park Academy Secondary
- Ashworth Nursery School Nursery
- Brunel Nursery School Nursery
- Longshaw Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy teach?
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is Mr Michael Wright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary 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 Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy?
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy has 770 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy full?
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy has capacity for 821 pupils and 770 on roll (94%), 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 Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is part of ROMERO CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How does Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 10th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 13.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary 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 3 July 2026.