Secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen
Where pupils go after Year 11 and after sixth form, school by school, with GCSE results. Destinations are for the 2023 leavers; results are from 2025.
Blackburn with Darwen has 12 state-funded secondary schools. Of the 2,152 pupils who finished Year 11 here in 2023, 83% stayed in education (England 86%): 17% in a school sixth form, 12% at a sixth form college, 52% at a further education college.
3% started an apprenticeship, close to the England rate of 3%.
9% of leavers had no sustained destination six months on, more than the 6% across England.
After sixth form, 31% of students in Blackburn with Darwen went to university (England 37%), and 10% of level 3 students reached one of the most selective universities (England 19%).
After Year 11: Blackburn with Darwen against England
| Measure | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 2,152 | 607,348 |
| Stayed in education | 83% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 17% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 12% | 13% |
| — further education college | 52% | 37% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 9% | 6% |
Where each school’s Year 11 leavers went
One band per school, sorted by the size of its 2023 Year 11 cohort. Band width is pupils; hover a band for the share, click a school for its profile. Counts are worked back from the percentages DfE publishes, so a band can be out by a pupil.
Map of secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen
Darker blue means a larger share of Year 11 leavers stayed in education. Click a school for details. Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
State-funded secondary schools (12)
Sorted by name. Click a school for its full picture. “Stayed in education” counts school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and FE colleges together.
| School | Pupils | Stayed in education | School sixth form | FE college | Apprenticeship | To university | Attainment 8 | 5+ Eng & maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Central High SchoolAcademy converter | 1,015 | 81% | 12% | 60% | 2% | — | 41.0 | 35% |
| Darwen Aldridge Community AcademyAcademy sponsor led · sixth form | 1,036 | 80% | 19% | 58% | 3% | 40% | 36.5 | 24% |
| Darwen Aldridge Enterprise StudioStudio schools · sixth form | 275 | 87% | 46% | 40% | 0% | 31% | 34.7 | 28% |
| Darwen Vale High SchoolAcademy sponsor led | 1,039 | 75% | 1% | 73% | 3% | — | 43.1 | 40% |
| Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy sponsor led | 770 | — | — | — | — | — | 37.2 | 23% |
| Pleckgate High SchoolAcademy sponsor led | 1,339 | 85% | 11% | 48% | 3% | — | 49.2 | 47% |
| Queen Elizabeth's Grammar SchoolFree schools · sixth form | 873 | 86% | 35% | 40% | 2% | 71% | 47.0 | 37% |
| St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, BlackburnVoluntary aided school | 1,051 | 75% | 1% | 65% | 9% | — | 47.4 | 54% |
| St Wilfrid's Church of England AcademyAcademy converter · sixth form | 1,483 | 90% | 28% | 46% | 1% | 62% | 50.8 | 53% |
| Tauheedul Islam Boys' High SchoolFree schools · sixth form | 746 | 87% | 28% | 32% | 2% | — | 62.5 | 81% |
| Tauheedul Islam Girls' High SchoolAcademy converter · sixth form | 866 | 94% | 59% | 10% | 2% | 49% | 72.3 | 93% |
| Witton Park AcademyAcademy converter | 1,243 | 85% | 4% | 67% | — | — | 40.3 | 37% |
Independent schools, colleges and special schools with published data (11)
| School | Pupils | Stayed in education | School sixth form | FE college | Apprenticeship | To university | Attainment 8 | 5+ Eng & maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Collegecollege · Further education | — | — | — | — | — | 23% | — | — |
| Al Islah Girls' High Schoolindependent · Other independent school | 119 | — | — | — | — | — | 39.6 | 23% |
| Jamiatul-Ilm Wal-Huda UK Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 354 | — | — | — | — | — | 56.3 | 81% |
| Markazul Uloomindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | 55.7 | 80% |
| Noorul Uloomindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 125 | — | — | — | — | — | 49.4 | 38% |
| Rawdhatul Ilm Wal Hudaindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 246 | — | — | — | — | — | 67.2 | 88% |
| Westholme Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 706 | — | — | — | — | — | 44.1 | 0% |
| Aurora Woodlands Schoolspecial · Other independent special school | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | 2.9 | 0% |
| Newfield Schoolspecial · Community special school · sixth form | 242 | 93% | 0% | 0% | 0% | — | — | — |
| Crosshill Special Schoolstate · Academy special converter · sixth form | 183 | 86% | 7% | 36% | 0% | — | — | — |
| Eden Schoolstate · Free schools special | 64 | 42% | 0% | 42% | 0% | — | 13.0 | 8% |