Primary
Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy
St James Crescent, Darwen, BB3 0EY
Key facts
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 203 of 265 places
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Religious character
- Yes
- Nursery
- Yes
- Trust
- CIDARI EDUCATION LIMITED
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
Ofsted
Last inspected July 2025
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Early yearsGood
- Leadership and governanceRequires improvement
- Personal developmentGood
- Quality of educationRequires improvement
Inspected under the previous framework, which used its own four-point scale. Ofsted now publishes a report card grading several areas separately, so these grades are not directly comparable with a recent inspection’s.
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)SATs results
37%
99.0
12th of 14 by our score, among the primary schools in Darwen we can score - see them all. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Average maths score | 100 |
| Average reading score | 99 |
| Reading, writing and maths | 37% |
| Working at a higher standard | 0% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time3 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 19% |
| 23/24 | 28% |
| 24/25 | 37% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 98.0 |
| 23/24 | 98.0 |
| 24/25 | 99.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 96.0 |
| 23/24 | 96.0 |
| 24/25 | 100.0 |
St James Crescent, Darwen, BB3 0EY
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 15 January, the year before starting.
Blackburn with Darwen admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Headteacher
- Laura Peckson
- Address
- St James Crescent, Darwen, BB3 0EY
- Telephone
- 01254703260