School Chooser

Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic186 pupilsBlackpool
School Chooser Score
56
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 24 to 82, so it could be “above”
Out of 100. Better than 55% of the 50 schools most like it.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, April 2023
Reached the expected level at 1161%England 63%
Attendance95.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families17%Far fewer than most schools
Places24 spare186 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher24.4School workforce census

Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool is a converter academy in Blackpool for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 186 pupils and room for 210. About 17 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 56 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 55% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Common Edge Road, Blackpool, FY4 5DF01253 762833ourladyassumption-sch.co.ukMr Peter Duffy headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 26 April 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

28 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1161%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level11%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 70%70%20172018: 77%77%20182019: 73%73%20192023: 59%59%20232024: 48%48%20242025: 61%61%2025
Since 2017: -9%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024†2023†2019†2018†2017†BlackpoolEngland
Pupils tested282129303130
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths61%48%59%73%77%70%58%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths11%0%3%17%23%7%4%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0104.0109.0107.0110.0106.0104.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.0102.0107.0109.0110.0107.0103.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0103.0107.0110.0110.0110.0104.2105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard75%71%79%80%90%87%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard71%67%86%93%97%97%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)71%57%62%83%81%73%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.8+2.4+5.7+1.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.2+3.8+5.8+2.7
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged43%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged88%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in June 2024. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
50%69%
Gap 19 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

A few spare places191 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
91% full

About 19 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Blackpool council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll186Census January 2026
Places21089% full
Pupils from low-income families17%17% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English6%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support12%23 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%4 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.67 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)14%£41,850 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls84 / 102
White British pupils88%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 25.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 27.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (9), emotional and mental health (8), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Specific learning difficulty (2), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census20262025
Pupils on roll186193
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals17%11%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language6%5%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school6.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.5%5.1%5.4%5.7%2.5%3.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.8%4.0%3.8%4.4%2.1%2.2%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.7%1.1%1.5%1.2%0.4%0.9%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence6.4%11.6%12.4%11.4%3.5%5.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions0

† These attendance figures are for Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in June 2024. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers7.6full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher24.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£54,738
Teachers who left in the year11%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.42024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,782England £7,128. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£6,451England £7,587. Total £1.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,119England £3,405
Money in reserve-13%In the red: -£167k, -£865 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out-£64kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,782spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m23412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate70 per 1,000 people23% lower than the England average
Typical house price£135,000Blackpool
Nearest bus stop70 mSquires Gate Lane, 17 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Blackpool St Nicholas CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England850 m418Report card 202685Compare
Marton Primary Academy and NurseryAcademy890 m312Good 202357Compare
Hawes Side AcademyAcademy990 m340Good 20223Compare
Roseacre Primary AcademyAcademy0.8 miles540Good 202333Compare
Armfield AcademyFree school1.1 miles1,221Good 202310Compare
Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy1.1 miles499No overall grade 202413Compare
St Cuthbert's Catholic AcademyAcademy1.3 miles245Good 202337Compare
Thames Primary AcademyAcademy1.3 miles444Good 202349Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats55%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 56 is about the same as the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 4 · middle 53 · highest 97100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 56 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 56% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 24 to 82. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.01
2025 results; 28 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.4 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.02
Contextualised attainment (no DfE progress measure available); 28 pupils
Direction of travel over five years0%no data
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.08
2024/25; 173 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
-0.01
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 28 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool a good school?

It is about average. Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool scores 56 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 55% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 24 to 82, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool good at its last full inspection on 26 April 2023.

How good are Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 61% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 11% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool have?

186 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 89% full.

Is Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool oversubscribed?

Probably not. 19 places were empty in 2024/25 (9% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool?

Pupils were in school 95.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 6% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool?

The average class had 26.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Common Edge Road, Blackpool, FY4 5DF
Telephone
01253 762833
Website
www.ourladyassumption-sch.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr Peter Duffy
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Diocese of Lancaster
Multi-academy trust
The Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust (20 schools)
Local authority
Blackpool
Ward
Highfield
Constituency
Blackpool South
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 June 2024 (academy converter)
URN
150866 · LAESTAB 8903622 · UKPRN 10095235
Formerly
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School

Where these figures come from