Living in Darwen with children
Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen. What the published figures say about its schools, its homes and daily life, each with its source and date. 27,897 people in 12,577 households; 26.9% of households have dependent children (Census 2021 (ONS, via NOMIS), summed over the town's output areas).
Schools
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SourceDfE results by phase (the year is in each table's heading). Inspections: Ofsted and ISI. Last place offered: the council's offer-day figures.
School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.
How it is worked outRank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase, from three years of DfE results (kinplace's league table, how it is worked out).
- Schools with hidden or no results get no rank.
Every school in Darwen, with inspection, league band and the last place offered
State primary schools (14)
| School | Inspection | League rank | Last place offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avondale Primary School | School remains Good | Top 24% (12/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen | Standards maintained | Top 31% (16/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | School remains Good | Top 33% (17/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| Ashleigh Primary School | School remains Good | Top 43% (22/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | 1.273 miles (2026) |
| Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy | School remains Good | Top 47% (24/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary | Ofsted report card | Top 49% (25/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| Holy Trinity VC School | Requires improvement | (28/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| St James' Church of England Primary School | Good | (41/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | 0.917 miles (2026) |
| Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School | Ofsted report card | (45/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School | Outstanding | (46/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | 0.883 miles (2026) |
| Lower Darwen Primary School | Good | (47/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School | Requires improvement | (49/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy | Requires improvement | (50/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School | Ofsted report card | (52/52) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
State secondary schools (3)
| School | Inspection | League rank | Last place offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darwen Vale High School | Good | (9/12) in Blackburn with Darwen | 2.431 miles (2026) |
| Darwen Aldridge Community Academy | Requires improvement | (10/12) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
| Aldridge UTC Darwen | Ofsted report card | (12/12) in Blackburn with Darwen | — |
Homes and prices
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SourceHM Land Registry Price Paid Data, standard sales inside the ONS built-up area outline of Darwen, September 2025 to August 2026.
How it is worked outThe middle sale of each type: half sold for more, half for less (59 detached, 71 semi-detached, 244 terraced, 8 flat or maisonette sales).
LicenceContains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Getting around
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SourceStops and stations: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes).
Broadband: Ofcom Connected Nations, July 2025, fixed broadband coverage by postcode.
How it is worked outRail stations within 2 km and bus stops within 1 km of the town centre; straight-line distances.
Broadband is an average across the 822 postcodes in BB3.
- Broadband is an average of postcodes, not of homes: check the postcode you are looking at, it can differ street by street.
Gigabit broadband can be ordered at 79% of premises, and superfast (30 Mbit/s) at 95%. Average of postcodes, not of homes.
Safety and environment
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SourceCrime: data.police.uk, street-level crime inside the ONS built-up area outline; people from Census 2021.
Flood: Environment Agency, Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea), read from its open download. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. Open Government Licence v3.0..
Air: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps.
How it is worked outCrime is street-level crime inside the town's outline over September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 people (Census 2021).
Flood: at the town centre the area is in flood zone 1 for rivers and the sea on the Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning (not in zone 2 or 3, the lowest of the three).
Air: an annual mean on DEFRA's 1 km map at the town centre.
- A town centre with shops and pubs records more crime per resident than a suburb.
- Flood: surface-water risk is unknown here, we don't hold that map. One point says little about a whole town, and the zones describe the area, not a building: check the address on the Environment Agency's long-term flood risk service.
- Air: a background figure, not the air beside a busy road.
- These are for the town centre; an address can differ.
Childcare
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SourceOfsted, Childcare providers and inspections (the early years register): the number of nurseries and what Ofsted found.
Fees: each nursery's own fees page.
Coram Family and Childcare, Childcare Survey 2026: average nursery price for 50 hours a week after the working-parent entitlement (paying for 20 hours), by region
How it is worked outThe day rate range counts only nurseries that publish a day rate; the middle is the median of those.
- A nursery that does not publish its fees has none held here, so its price is unknown.
Key dates, Blackburn with Darwen
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SourceEach council's own published admissions dates, held on the dates page.
How it is worked outThe next dates ahead for Reception and Year 7 applications: applications opening and closing, offer day, and the reply deadline.
- A date marked (about) or (earliest) is worked out from the offer day under the national rules; the council has not announced it.
Nearby towns
Keep Darwen in your plan beside the other towns you are weighing up, and see each school here worked out for your address and your children.Add Darwen to your plan
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources and methods: tap the (i) on each section. How we know · All sources.