The Olive School, Blackburn

School overview

The Olive School, Blackburn is a primary school serving Blackburn with Darwen, classified by the DfE as a free school with a Muslim religious character. It has 637 pupils aged 4 to 11 on roll. 98% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, well above the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has risen by 3.0 percentage points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 1% of primary schools in England.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 111 in reading and 113 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 24% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). The Olive School, Blackburn is oversubscribed: about 6 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Reception place for September 2026, with 156 first choices for 90 places. Overall pupil absence was 3.6%. There are about 24.4 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 4% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. The Olive School, Blackburn does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.