Secondary · BB1 · Blackburn

Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy

North Road, Blackburn, BB1 1PY

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ROMERO CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST is the academy trust. Admissions rules still sit with the school and your local council.

OfstedRequires improvement

At a glance

Key published figures for this school.

OfstedRequires improvement
Attendance (2024/25)86.9%
Attainment (2024/25)Attainment 8: 37.2
Roll vs capacityClose to published capacity
Pupils770

Ofsted inspection

Latest outcome

Requires improvement

Report published 6 Jul 2023.

Inspection history

  • Previous gradedRequires improvement

This page shows previous graded and latest ungraded outcomes when Ofsted publishes them in the national file. Full history stays on the Ofsted report.

School figures

Coloured bars compare this school with the average for other schools in BB1. Where we have them, council (Blackburn with Darwen) and England figures appear under FSM, SEN and attendance. FSM, SEN and EAL are context, not quality scores. For attendance, higher is usually better.

Pupils on roll
770
Free school meals
47.7%
18.2% above district average (29.5%)

Also: Blackburn with Darwen 26.9% · England 25.8%

SEN
24.5%
0.1% below district average (24.6%)

Also: Blackburn with Darwen 16.5% · England 16.5%

EAL
34.4%
12.9% below district average (47.3%)
Attendance
86.9% Autumn and spring 2024/25
6.9% below district average (93.8%)

Also: Blackburn with Darwen 92.2% · England 91.9%

Each metric uses its own colour so you can tell the rows apart. The lighter bar is the BB1 average; the darker bar is this school.

Compared with England

Persistent absence is 2024/25. Headline GCSE measures are 2024/25. England is the state-funded average from the same tables. Progress 8 of 0 is typical.

Persistent absence2024/25

38.1%

16.2% above England (21.9%)

Attainment 82024/25

37.2

8.9 below England (46.1)

Grade 5+ English & maths2024/25

22.5%

22.9% below England (45.4%)

Grade 4+ English & maths2024/25

42.1%

22.7% below England (64.8%)

Entered for EBacc2024/25

32.6%

7.9% below England (40.5%)

EBacc average point score2024/25

3.16

0.9 below England (4.09)

Admissions

Applications and offers (September 2026 entry)

For September 2026 entry, 106 families put this school first. All of them were offered a place here.

Named as first preference
106
First-preference offers
106
First preferences offered a place
100%
Total offers
155
Named on any preference
195

This is historic demand from one admissions round. It is not a guarantee of a place, and it does not show a catchment area. Admission rules and priorities differ by school.

SourceDfE applications and offers, September 2026 entryPublished 18th of June 2026.

How full the building is

Roll versus published capacity
Close to published capacity
Published capacity (GIAS)
821
Pupils on roll
770

Pupils on roll compared with the capacity published in GIAS. This is about building size, not applications or offers, and it is not a guarantee of a place.

Applications and offers come from DfE. Last distance offered and catchment areas are not published nationally. Your council admissions booklet has those details.

Check your council admissions booklet via the Blackburn with Darwen page.

SEN support

SEN %
24.5%

A higher SEN percentage can mean experience with support needs, or more demand on staff. Ask the SENCO what is available day to day.

Schools near Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy

Distances are in a straight line from this school. They are not catchment areas.

Other nearby schools

All schools in BB1 · Schools in Blackburn with Darwen

Sources and freshness

  • School year for most DfE figures: 2024/25.
  • Pipeline last checked: Oct 2026.
  • Council and England attendance / FSM tables: 2024/25.
  • School figures from DfE / GIAS / Ofsted where published. District averages use other schools in this postcode district. Council and England figures use DfE local authority and national tables for the matching phase.
  • We do not publish school photos. The banner shows initials from the school name.
  • Methodology · Data updates