Blackburn Central High School
Academy converter · 1,015 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.0
Academy special converter
Crosshill Special School
- Pupils on roll
- 183of 185 places
- Free school meals
- 50.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 23
- Ofsted
- Good, 23 November 2021Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Crosshill Special School (URN 119858, until 1 April 2019).
What the data says
Of the 14 pupils who finished Year 11 at Crosshill Special School in 2023, 7% stayed on in Crosshill Special School’s own sixth form (Blackburn with Darwen average 17%), 36% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
14% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Blackburn with Darwen and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Crosshill Special School | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 14 | 2,152 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 86% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 86% | 83% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 7% | 17% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 12% | 13% |
| — further education college | 36% | 52% | 37% |
| — other education | 43% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 14% | 9% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
No published Key Stage 4 results for this school.
Other secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen
Darwen Aldridge Community Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,036 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 36.5
Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio
Studio schools · sixth form · 275 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 34.7
Darwen Vale High School
Academy sponsor led · 1,039 pupils
75% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.1
Pleckgate High School
Academy sponsor led · 1,339 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.2
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School
Free schools · sixth form · 873 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.0
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.