St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
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.
First-choice demand has fallen from 317 in 2021 to 262 in 2026, while places went from 201 to 207.
Across Blackburn with Darwen, 79% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 94% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Blackburn with Darwen lodged 279 appeals against secondary school offers; 243 reached a hearing and 23 succeeded (9.5% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 207 | 262 | 521 | 1.3 | 57 |
| 2025 | 203 | 238 | 533 | 1.2 | 37 |
| 2024 | 204 | 264 | 569 | 1.3 | 62 |
| 2023 | 204 | 245 | 517 | 1.2 | 42 |
| 2022 | 205 | 249 | 530 | 1.2 | 46 |
| 2021 | 201 | 317 | 480 | 1.6 | 118 |
| 2020 | 204 | 282 | 497 | 1.4 | 83 |
| 2019 | 205 | 243 | 444 | 1.2 | 40 |
| 2018 | 200 | 244 | 429 | 1.2 | 48 |
| 2017 | 209 | 235 | 428 | 1.1 | 31 |
| 2016 | 208 | 264 | 467 | 1.3 | 58 |
| 2015 | 205 | 214 | 380 | 1.0 | 21 |
| 2014 | 193 | 242 | 483 | 1.3 | 57 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.