St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, BlackburnWitton Park Academy
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Blackburn.
Summary of the comparison
St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn and Witton Park Academy are secondary schools in Blackburn.
St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn scores 57 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Witton Park Academy scores 39 out of 100 (grade F, weak). St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn is ahead on our composite score.
St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn was judged the expected standard and Witton Park Academy was judged in need of attention.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 45.4 for St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn and 39.9 for Witton Park Academy.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn (49.2 in 2021-22, 45.4 in 2025-26) and has fallen at Witton Park Academy (45.0 in 2021-22, 39.9 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | BlackburnSt Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn | BlackburnWitton Park Academy | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C57/100Stronger figure | F39/100 | |
| Local ranking | 5th of 12 in Blackburn with Darwen Stronger figure | 11th of 12 in Blackburn with Darwen | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: GoodStronger figure | Ofsted: Needs attention | |
| School type | Voluntary aided school | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-16 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 1,051 | 1,243 | |
| Capacity | 1,050 | 1,230 | |
| Location | Blackburn, BB2 4SR | Blackburn, BB2 6TD | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 45.4 Stronger figure | 39.9 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 51.9% Stronger figure | 39.5% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 71.4% Stronger figure | 57.4% | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 206 | 256 | |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 1,043 | 1,312 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 21.0% | 39.5% | |
| English as an additional language | 7.3% | 65.5% | |
| SEN support | 10.2% | 17.4% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 3.1% | 1.5% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 7.5% Stronger figure | 9.2% | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 19.6% Stronger figure | 26.3% | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn
Witton Park Academy
Full profiles: St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn · Witton Park Academy