AN elated headteacher has spoken of her pride after the school she runs was ranked one of the best in the country.

St Barnabas and St Paul’s Church of England in Blackburn has been listed as the best primary school in the north west, and the 13th best nationally.

The nation’s top performing schools were revealed in Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2022, which is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative survey of the country’s highest-achieving schools.

Ten of the fifteen highest ranked primary schools were based in London, with the remaining facilities based in Sutton Coldfield, Maidenhead, Farnham Erith and Blackburn.

Debbie Withey, head teacher at St Barnabas and St Paul’ s, hoped pupils were proud of their achievement.

She said: “What a fantastic credit to our students this achievement is, along with their parents and carers, who offer invaluable support. 

“This demonstrates the brilliant education Blackburn with Darwen has to offer. What a great way to round off the year. I hope our students are really proud of themselves.”

Alastair McCall, editor of Parent Power, said: “The need for clarity about school examination performance has never been greater after two years of teacher assessed grades, during which for completely understandable reasons, the numbers of top grades increased dramatically.

“We felt it was important to go back to the last sets of moderated public examination outcomes from 2019, 2018 and 2017 to get the most accurate and current view of school academic achievement. By taking a three-year average, we mitigated against relatively poor performance in a one-off year.

“At a time when some schools are making hard to substantiate claims of academic prowess based on outcomes from 2021 and 2020, we believe these rankings – and all the additional information on offer in Parent Power – provide parents with a more reliable guide to academic achievement in schools today.”