Darwen Aldridge Community Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,036 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 36.5
Academy converter
Blackburn Central High School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,015of 900 places
- Free school meals
- 44.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 176
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 14 December 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Blackburn Central High School (URN 134906, until 1 April 2019).
What the data says
Blackburn Central High School has no sixth form. Of the 173 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 10% moved to a sixth form college, 60% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
13% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 41.0 against 46.1 across England and 45.4 in Blackburn with Darwen, with 35% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, Blackburn Central High School is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
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 | This school | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 173 | 2,152 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 84% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 81% | 83% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 12% | 17% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 10% | 12% | 13% |
| — further education college | 60% | 52% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 13% | 9% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 41.0 | 45.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 44% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 56% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 55% | 39% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.82 | 3.98 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 38% | 30% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 36.8 | 35.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 43.5 | 49.7 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 49% | 29% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 176 | 100% | 89% | 10% | 20% | 57% |
| Mathematics | 176 | 100% | 88% | 14% | 22% | 65% |
| English Literature | 175 | 99% | 86% | 13% | 21% | 62% |
| Combined Science | 150 | 85% | 65% | 7% | 9% | 43% |
| History | 102 | 58% | 41% | 13% | 26% | 43% |
| Geography | 59 | 34% | 41% | 12% | 25% | 37% |
| Religious Studies | 55 | 31% | 31% | 24% | 32% | 76% |
| Spanish | 55 | 31% | 19% | 5% | 27% | 47% |
| Urdu | 42 | 24% | 1% | 40% | 42% | 86% |
| Computer Science | 33 | 19% | 13% | 12% | 30% | 30% |
| Fine Art | 32 | 18% | 9% | 6% | 28% | 81% |
| Physics | 26 | 15% | 23% | 35% | 46% | 100% |
| Biology | 26 | 15% | 23% | 54% | 45% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 26 | 15% | 23% | 54% | 47% | 100% |
| Textiles | 13 | 7% | 2% | 15% | 27% | 100% |
| Drama | 7 | 4% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 0% |
| Italian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| French | 1 | 1% | 18% | — | 29% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Citizenship Studies | 1 | 1% | 3% | — | 19% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Studies | 36 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 32 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 25 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 14 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen
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
St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn
Voluntary aided school · 1,051 pupils
75% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.4
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.