St Antony's RC Primary School, Blackburn
St Antony's RC Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Blackburn. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 23rd-highest of the 49 schools in Blackburn with published results, and 5,775th of 14,452 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.4 first-choice applications for every place. It was full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Blackburn with Darwen (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Antony's RC Primary School in detail
St Antony's RC Primary School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "On behalf of myself, the staff, governors and pupils, I would like to warmly welcome you to St Antony's RC Primary School, to 'Join the faith and learning journey'. Everyone in our community is on a journey and we live in the light of God; loving, working, praying and learning together."
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am and after-school care.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils at St Antony's RC Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 77% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 76% in Blackburn with Darwen and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 93% in reading and 83% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Antony's RC Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 42 families put St Antony's RC Primary School as their first choice and 84 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 12 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at St Antony's RC Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Antony's RC Primary School are Shadsworth Infant School (0.3 miles, Good); Shadsworth Junior School (0.3 miles, Good, 69% reading, 76% maths); Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 78% reading, 87% maths); and Audley Junior School (0.6 miles, Good, 79% reading, 90% maths).
St Antony's RC Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 3 schools.
Shadsworth Infant SchoolShadsworth Junior SchoolBlackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary SchoolAudley Junior School
Who goes there
39.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 38.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (53%) and Asian (17%).
In 2026, 52 pupils (22%) received SEN support and 14 (5.9%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Blackburn Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.
14 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Gleneagles Court (opposite), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Antony's RC Primary School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Antony's RC Primary School issued 7 suspensions, 3.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to St Antony's RC Primary School are Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy (under 0.1 miles); and Blackburn Central High School (0.8 miles).
Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyBlackburn Central High School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from April 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: Standards have been maintained.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's November 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This school creates a nurturing environment where children thrive emotionally and academically. Reading is particularly strong, with children reading widely and often. The school has excellent support for all learners, especially those with additional needs, with staff working hard to help every child succeed.
Key Strengths
- Strong reading achievement with pupils reading widely and fluently, supporting learning across all subjects
- Effective support for pupils with SEND who achieve well through well-thought-out individualised support
- Consistent delivery of ambitious curriculum by skilled teachers who identify and address gaps in knowledge quickly
- Caring and welcoming environment where pupils flourish in confidence and show kindness to one another
- High expectations for attendance and punctuality with improved rates for pupils who struggle
Areas for Improvement
- Pupils do not consistently practice and apply what they have learned in English (spelling, letter formation, punctuation) across their written work
- Some pupils do not become fluent writers quickly enough as a result of insufficient reinforcement of learning
- Written work across the curriculum could be more consistently high quality
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with school leaders prioritising pupil safety and welfare.
Extracurricular Activities
Local and international projects, before- and after-school club, breakfast club
St Antony's RC Primary School has effectively maintained its good standards since the previous inspection in 2019. Pupils are happy, well-behaved, and achieve well across the curriculum in a nurturing and welcoming environment.
At a Glance
39.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 93% to 83% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 83% to 77% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 67% to 63% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
28.4
Avg class size
28.0
Infant (KS1)
30.0
KS2
8
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with St Antony's RC Primary School
Before and after school care
St Antony's RC Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Blackburn with Darwen
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Antony's RC Primary School.
- School's Out Holiday Squad580m away · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Antony's RC Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Antony's RC Primary School is in Blackburn with Darwen; for families living there:
Apply to Blackburn with Darwen for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 17
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 7
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 12 slight.
7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
9 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Blackburn with Darwen is 24 (the median across 89 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at St Antony's RC Primary School
Will you get a place at St Antony's RC Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Antony's RC Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Antony's RC Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Antony's RC Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Blackburn with Darwen, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Antony's RC Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Blackburn with Darwen got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
100%
Full
210 pupils
210 places
No spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Blackburn
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Blackburn
Across Blackburn with Darwen council
Places available
2,256
Applications
1,926
Got 1st preference
89.3%
Got preferred school
97.9%
All primary applications across Blackburn with Darwen council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(14)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
52
SEN Support
14
EHC Plans
28.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
236
Total Pupils
112
Boys
124
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
19.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,339
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,424
Per pupil
£1555k
Total funding
£135k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.5%
Overall absence
10.0%
Persistent absence
190
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Antony's RC Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Antony's RC Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Antony's RC Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Antony's RC Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 83% reached the expected standard in reading and 77% did so in maths.
What is St Antony's RC Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Antony's RC Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Antony's RC Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Antony's RC Primary School is oversubscribed, Blackburn with Darwen allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Antony's RC Primary School?
St Antony's RC Primary School was full in 2025, at 100% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at St Antony's RC Primary School?
Classes at St Antony's RC Primary School average 28.4 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Antony's RC Primary School?
St Antony's RC Primary School has around 236 pupils on roll. 40% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Antony's RC Primary School?
4.5% of sessions were missed at St Antony's RC Primary School in 2024/25. 10% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Antony's RC Primary School?
Apply through Blackburn with Darwen's coordinated admissions process, naming St Antony's RC Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does St Antony's RC Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
St Antony's RC Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of St Antony's RC Primary School: School's Out Holiday Squad (580m away, registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near St Antony's RC Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 12 slight. 7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 9 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Blackburn with Darwen is 24 (the median across 89 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Antony's RC Primary School?
St Antony's RC Primary School is at Shadsworth Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 2HP.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)