How many pupils attend St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn?

St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn has 395 pupils on roll.

What ages does St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn take?

St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn admits pupils aged 2 to 11.

How do I apply to St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn?

St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn is a state school. In England you apply through the council where you live, using its common application form, even if the school is in another council area. The national closing date for primary places is 15 January.

Does St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn have a religious character?

Yes — St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn has a religious character of Church of England. Faith criteria may apply to admissions; check the school's oversubscription policy for details.

How are Reception places decided at St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn?

When St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn has more applications than places for 2024-25, they are offered in a published order of priority: 1. Looked after children / previously looked after children & children with special medical or social circumstances — (a) Looked after children and previously looked after children. This means a 'looked after child' or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order, including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. (b) Children with special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met at this school. Professional supporting evidence from a professional, e.g. a doctor, psychologist, social worker, is essential if admission is to be made under the criterion for special medical or social circumstances, and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why the school in question is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school. Parents must submit this evidence to with their application by 15th January 2024, if they wish their application to be considered under this criterion; 2. Siblings — Children who have a sibling attending the school on the date of application and on the date of admission. Siblings include step, half, foster, adopted brothers and sisters including children of the parent/carer's partner living at the same address. This does not include cousins living at the same address; 3. Children within the ecclesiastical parish of St. James' Blackburn — Children whose parent(s) live within the ecclesiastical parish of St. James' Blackburn. A map showing the parish boundaries is available in the school office and on the school website, and 1 further criteria. The school offers 43 places at this entry point. Tie-break: Where there are more applicants than the available places within a category, then the distance between the Ordnance Survey address points for the school and the home measured in a straight line will be used as the final determining factor, nearer addresses having priority over more distant ones. Where two addresses have the same distance, or the cut-off point is for addresses within the same building, then the Local Authority's system of a random draw will determine which address(es) receive the offer(s).

What is the largest ethnic background at St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn?

According to the DfE School Census 2025-26, 47.6% of pupils at St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn are recorded as Pakistani. The full ethnic breakdown across all groups is available on the Pupils tab.

St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn

School AtlasBlackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen

School AtlasBlackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen

How close did you need to live?

Distance did not decide places here

Every applicant who applied on time was offered a place for 2026-27 (Reception), so there was no cut-off distance. This changes from year to year; check the current year's figures before relying on it.

How places were offered at St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn, year by year →

How places are decided at St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn

When there are more applications than places for 2024-25 (Reception), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1Looked after children / previously looked after children & children with special medical or social circumstances — (a) Looked after children and previously looked after children. This means a 'looked after child' or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order, including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. (b) Children with special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met at this school. Professional supporting evidence from a professional, e.g. a doctor, psychologist, social worker, is essential if admission is to be made under the criterion for special medical or social circumstances, and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why the school in question is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school. Parents must submit this evidence to with their application by 15th January 2024, if they wish their application to be considered under this criterion.
2Siblings — Children who have a sibling attending the school on the date of application and on the date of admission. Siblings include step, half, foster, adopted brothers and sisters including children of the parent/carer's partner living at the same address. This does not include cousins living at the same address.
3Children within the ecclesiastical parish of St. James' Blackburn — Children whose parent(s) live within the ecclesiastical parish of St. James' Blackburn. A map showing the parish boundaries is available in the school office and on the school website.
4Other children

If two applications tie: Where there are more applicants than the available places within a category, then the distance between the Ordnance Survey address points for the school and the home measured in a straight line will be used as the final determining factor, nearer addresses having priority over more distant ones. Where two addresses have the same distance, or the cut-off point is for addresses within the same building, then the Local Authority's system of a random draw will determine which address(es) receive the offer(s).

Criterion 1 combines two sub-criteria (a) LAC/previously LAC and (b) special medical/social circumstances at the same priority rank. Faith criterion (rank 3) is based on residence in the ecclesiastical parish rather than church attendance. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a primary place.

Published by the admission authority. Meeting a criterion never guarantees a place — it sets the order places are offered in. Full detail, other entry points and previous years are on the Admissions tab.