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D−

St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School

PrimaryAges 4–11Voluntary aidedChurch of England

near Withnell, BB3 0LX · Blackburn with Darwen local authority

Withnell’s Schools page →

Its letter
3%
of England’s primaries have lower KS2 results
Getting in
3/3
first choices offered a place, 2026 (England: 93%)
How full
56 pupils
80% of its 70 places
Free school meals
18%
18 in 100 pupils eligible · outlined square = England’s schools (25)
The gist

What stands out about St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School

  • Its own letter, D−: Key Stage 2 results near the bottom of England’s primary schools (better than 3%)
  • 35% meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 27 points below England’s schools
  • Ofsted report card, February 2026: achievement needs attention, safeguarding met (shown, not graded)
  • Outside any built-up area: listed with Withnell, the nearest town
  • Every family who put it first got a place for September 2026 (3 of 3)
  • Homes in its postcode sector (BB3 0) sold for a median £156,000; Withnell’s is £225,500

Results

DfE · Key Stage 2

Reading, writing and maths 35%

Met the expected standard, DfE’s 3-year average 2023–2025 · higher than 3% of England’s 14,979 graded primaries · Blackburn with Darwen avg 60%

0%20%40%60%80%100%England avg 61.6%St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary 35%

Each subject, 2025

Met the expected standard; the mark is England’s schools · average scaled score: reading 104, maths 98 (100 = the expected standard)

Reading60%
England’s schools 77%
Writing (teacher assessed)10%
England’s schools 73%
Maths30%
England’s schools 75%
Grammar, punctuation and spelling70%
England’s schools 74%
Reached the higher standard in all three0%
England’s schools 8% · Blackburn with Darwen 6% · 2025

England’s figures are of its graded mainstream state schools, each school counted once; grammar schools are included, which is why the right-hand tail is long. Small cohorts are suppressed.

Getting in

How hard is it to get a place at St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School?

Every family who put it first got a place for September 2026.

3
families put it first for September 2026
3
places offered
100%
of first choices offered a place (England’s primaries: 93%)
First choices and places, by year of entry
20192020202120222023202420252026
Families who put it firstPlaces offered
Red figures: first choices not offered a place

Years when some first choices missed out: 2019 (1). The council runs the coordinated admissions; each school’s rules (siblings, distance, faith) decide who gets in. DfE doesn’t publish the furthest distance offered, so check the council’s admissions booklet for that. The school’s governing body sets the admissions rules. Apply through Blackburn with Darwen council’s coordinated admissions.

Demand for primary schools nearby, September 2026

Outline = places offered · green = families who put it first · striped = more first choices than places

1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
1.00 per place
93% got their first choice
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
0.98 per place
100% got their first choice

Withnell and Blackburn with Darwen, side by side

2023–2025

All 50 graded primaries in Blackburn with Darwen. Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually score lower, so a school above the crowd for its free school meals is doing better than its intake predicts. Withnell’s schools are coloured by their letter.

25%37%49%61%73%85%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%Pupils eligible for free school meals →KS2 expected standard →St Stephen's Tockholes CofE
ABCDElsewhere in Blackburn with DarwenSt Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary
Show as a table
SchoolLetterFree school mealsKS2 expected standard
The Olive School, BlackburnA+4%95%
Blackburn the Redeemer CofE PrimaryA+10%83%
Turton Belmont Community Primary SchoolA3%82%
Lammack Primary SchoolA8%80%
Brookhouse Primary SchoolA19%78%
Daisyfield Primary SchoolA20%77%
Wensley Fold CofE Primary AcademyA10%76%
Audley Junior SchoolA−32%75%
Cedars Primary SchoolA−21%73%
St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School, Feniscowles, BlackburnA−6%72%
Longshaw Community Junior SchoolB+65%69%
St Barnabas and St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolB+35%69%
St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnB+29%69%
St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyB+18%69%
Ashleigh Primary SchoolB+15%68%
Avondale Primary SchoolB+28%68%
St Gabriel's Church of England Primary SchoolB11%67%
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnB41%67%
Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary AcademyB9%67%
St Stephen's Church of England Primary SchoolB26%66%
Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolB2%66%
Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary SchoolB20%65%
St Michael With St John CofE Primary SchoolB26%65%
Griffin Park Primary SchoolB−23%64%
Livesey Saint Francis' Church of England SchoolB−21%61%
Shadsworth Junior SchoolC+64%59%
St James' Church of England Primary School BlackburnC+24%59%
St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, BlackburnC+26%58%
Roe Lee Park Primary SchoolC29%57%
Feniscowles Primary SchoolC10%57%
St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnC50%56%
St Antony's RC Primary SchoolC43%56%
Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolC36%55%
Holy Souls Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnC19%55%
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, DarwenC−15%53%
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnC−26%52%
St James' Church of England Primary SchoolC−25%51%
St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnC−46%51%
St Matthew's Church of England Primary SchoolC−40%49%
Meadowhead Junior SchoolD61%46%
Holy Trinity VC SchoolD48%46%
St Silas's CofE Primary SchoolD22%45%
Intack Primary SchoolD41%42%
St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary SchoolD50%41%
Lower Darwen Primary SchoolD−20%35%
St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary SchoolD−18%35%
Darwen Aldridge Sudell PrimaryD−50%33%
St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary SchoolD−34%32%
St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England AcademyD−55%30%
Darwen St James CofE Primary AcademyD−42%27%

Who goes here

DfE school census, January 2025

56 pupils. SEN support is extra help in school for a special educational need; an EHC plan is the council’s legal plan for pupils who need more.

SEN support
19.6%England 15.3%
EHC plan
10.7%England 3.6%
English as an additional language
5.4%England 18.8%
Free school meals in the last 6 years
14.3%England 26.2%

Girls and boys

Girls 52%Boys 48%
Its letter

St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School’s letter

Its own results against England’s schools, not the town’s School Grade.

Primary: KS2 reading, writing and maths D−Better than 3% of 15,230 schools
How school letters are worked out

Each school’s measure is compared with every graded school in England of the same phase: for primaries, the share of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (DfE’s three-year average); for secondaries, Attainment 8 and the share with grade 5 or above in English and maths, each turned into a z-score against England’s schools and averaged. The letter comes from the share of those schools it beats, in the same bands as every grade on the site. The same method gives U.S. schools their letters, against their own state.

A+ 95+A 85–94A− 75–84B+ 65–74B 55–64B− 45–54C+ 35–44C 25–34C− 15–24D 5–14D− 0–4

Graded: England’s open mainstream state schools with published results (grammar schools included, which select by test). Not graded: special schools, alternative provision, nurseries, 16–19 colleges, UTCs and studio schools, Welsh schools. Ofsted plays no part.

Ofsted

Ofsted inspections

Shown, not graded: Ofsted is never part of a letter or the School Grade.

Report card, inspection starting February 2026.

SafeguardingMet
AchievementNeeds attention
Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
InclusionExpected standard
Attendance and behaviourExpected standard
Personal development and well-beingExpected standard
Leadership and governanceExpected standard
Early yearsExpected standard

Before the report card: Ungraded inspection: School remains Good, October 2021.

The full reports on Ofsted ↗

Living nearby

Living near St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School

For families thinking of moving: what homes cost around the school, and the other schools close by.

Home prices in BB3 0, the school’s postcode sector

Withnell property prices →
£156,000
median sale, 381 sales in 36 months · Withnell £225,500

Median sale price each year, 2010 to 2025

£50K£100K£150K£200K£250K2010201520202025BB3 0Withnell
BB3 0Withnell

By type, the 36 months to August 2026

Detached
£271K
Semi-detached
£170K
Terraced
£115K
BB3 0Withnell

Homes in BB3 0 sell for well under Withnell’s typical price. HM Land Registry Price Paid, standard sales. Catchments aren’t published, so the postcode sector stands in for “around the school”.

Schools within 1.6 miles

5 state schools
0.5 mi1 mi1.5 miNB+A−D−BB+D−St Stephen's Tockholes CofE…
ABCDNo letterPrimarySecondary / all-through

near Withnell, BB3 0LX

St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School: common questions

Is St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School a good school?

By its published results, well below average: its Key Stage 2 results are better than 3% of England’s primary schools (its letter is D−), with 35% of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% for England’s schools. Ofsted: a report card in February 2026.

How hard is it to get into St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School?

For September 2026, 3 families put St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School first and all of them were offered a place; 3 places were offered in all.

What is St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School’s Ofsted rating?

Its latest inspection (February 2026) gave a report card: achievement needs attention, safeguarding met. Ofsted stopped giving one-word overall grades in September 2024.

How much do houses cost near St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School?

Homes in its postcode sector, BB3 0, sold for a median £156,000 over the 36 months to August 2026 (381 sales).

Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Also: DfE Key Stage 4 performance, schools data (2023/24 and 2024/25 final, 2025/26 provisional) and Key Stage 2 performance tables 2024/25 by subject; DfE school census, January 2025; DfE school-level applications and offers, September 2019 to 2026 entry; HM Land Registry Price Paid by postcode sector, 2010 to August 2026.

A school’s letter is our own summary of its published results against England’s schools of the same phase; Withnell’s School Grade is a separate grade, built from the results of the schools in and around the town against other towns. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.