St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn, Blackburn

In 2026, pupils at St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.4, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.2 in Blackburn with Darwen and 47 across England.

52% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Blackburn with Darwen and 47% in England.

That is down from 47.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.25: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 34.2, against 48.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 262 families put St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn as their first choice and 521 named it as one of their preferences, for 207 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 57 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn are Witton Park Academy (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.9); St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.8); Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School (1.5 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 62.6); and Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School (1.9 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 68.7).

St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

89 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn (as of September 2025): 75% would recommend the school, 81% say their child is happy there and 50% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (84%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (50%).

Of the 216 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 78% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 65% to a further education college, 7% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

7.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Cherry Tree Rail Station, about 650 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).

16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Gib Lane (adjacent), 50 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 156 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Blackburn with Darwen (289).

In 2024/25, St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn issued 174 suspensions, 16.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 5 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn are Livesey Saint Francis' Church of England School (0.4 miles); Meadowhead Junior School (0.4 miles); Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery (0.5 miles); and St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Blackburn (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.