Westholme School

Westholme’s story begins with two teachers, Emily Singleton and Ivy Richmond, opening a small Blackburn school in 1923. A century later, that beginning has grown into a co-educational day school for ages four to 18, bringing Prep, Senior and Sixth Form pupils into one all-through community. The centenary is less a finish line than a reminder of how steadily the school has developed.

The shape of that development is visible in the school’s stages. Prep joined the Meins Road site, the Sixth Form Centre opened in 2003, and the Boys’ School began that same year. Pupils can progress through Prep and Seniors into the INSPIRED Sixth Form, gaining a clear route through the school while remaining part of a recognisable Blackburn institution.

INSPIRED Sixth Form gives the post-16 years their own focus through subject choice, careers work, pastoral care and enrichment. Academic departments sit alongside sport, performing arts and other activities, so senior study is not separated from the wider life of the school. In 2025, 39% of GCSE grades were 9-7 and 59% of A-level grades were A*-B.

The school’s history and present structure sit closely together: Prep, Senior and Sixth Form pupils occupy different phases, but share the continuity of a long-established co-educational day school. That progression is the thread linking a small 1923 foundation to the school now on Meins Road.