Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy
St James Crescent, Darwen, BB3 0EY
203 pupils · 77% of 265 capacity
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- CIDARI EDUCATION LIMITED
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Free school meals
- 41.5%
Ofsted
No overall grade (2025) — Inspected 2024–2025 — no overall grade under the interim framework
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 9 July 2025, published 15 September 2025. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 37% |
| Reaching the higher standard | 0% |
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Roughly one first choice per place — 0.97 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 29 | 28 | 44 | 28 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 21 | 21 | 33 | 21 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 25 | 25 | 35 | 25 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 20 | 20 | 32 | 20 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 16 | 16 | 24 | 16 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 19 | 18 | 30 | 18 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 16 | 16 | 20 | 16 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 29 | 28 | 43 | 29 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary 0.7 km · Most areas: Needs attention (2026)
- Holy Trinity VC School 0.9 km · No overall grade (2025)
- Avondale Primary School 1.1 km · Good — confirmed 2023 · previous system
- Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School 1.2 km · Good (2022) · previous system
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen 1.5 km · Standards maintained (2025)
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School 1.5 km · Requires improvement (2024) · previous system
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.