SCHOOL PROFILE

St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy

Secondary Academy converter URN 136900
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,630 Published school capacity
Capacity used 91.0% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

11 January 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Blackburn with Darwen
Trust ST WILFRID'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 1,483 1,483 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 763 51.4% of pupils
Male pupils 720 48.6% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

26.8%
2.0 pts above England
School 26.8%
Blackburn with Darwen 25.6%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

17.6%
2.7 pts below England
School 17.6%
Blackburn with Darwen 36.4%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.7%
0.3 pts below England
School 0.7%
Blackburn with Darwen 0.4%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
42.8%
634
Pakistani
18.6%
276
Indian
11.7%
174
Any other Asian background
5.2%
77
Unclassified
4.7%
70
Any other White background
4.5%
67
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 9.6% 143 of 1,483 pupils
11.2 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 9.6%
Blackburn with Darwen 19.8%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 7.8% 116 pupils
England 14.8% 7.0 pts below
EHC plans 1.8% 27 pupils
England 6.0% 4.2 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 35
Speech, language & communication 32
Moderate learning difficulty 17
Specific learning difficulty 16
Other difficulty or disability 12
Autistic spectrum disorder 9

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

50.8 11.6 pts above England
School 50.8
Blackburn with Darwen 44.5
North West 37.7
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 53.4% England 36.0% 17.4 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 71.7% England 51.4% 20.3 pts above England
EBacc entry 8.1% England 30.6% 22.5 pts below England
EBacc average point score 4.20 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.19 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.

ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

7.12%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.90 pts higher than England
School 7.12%
Blackburn with Darwen 6.47%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

19.15%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

3.34 pts higher than England
School 19.15%
Blackburn with Darwen 17.93%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.27%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.47 pts higher than England
School 2.27%
Blackburn with Darwen 1.96%
North West 1.75%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

91.0% 1.3 pts below England
St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy
91.0%
Blackburn with Darwen
94.1%
North West
91.8%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information