THE proportion of secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen rated as good or outstanding has fallen, figures from the watchdog Ofsted show.

At the end of August, eight in ten schools in the borough were judged good or outstanding (80 per cent) at their latest inspection - a drop of nine percentage points on last year.

There has also been a fall in the percentage of Lancashire schools getting the top two marks, with the figure at 77 per cent this year compared to 76 per cent last year.

The Ofsted data shows the performance of primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen has remained the same, with 83 per cent judged as good or outstanding this year and in 2016.

Lancashire saw a slight drop with 94 per cent of schools getting a good or outstanding rating this year, compared to 95 per cent last year.

For the North West, 71 per cent of secondary schools were judged to be good or outstanding, below the national level of 79 per cent and a decline by two percentage points compared to August 2016.

The figures were revealed in an annual Ofsted report, which gives a state of the nation picture of the performance of early years, schools, further education and skills, and social care providers in England.

Andrew Cook, Ofsted North West Regional director, described the figures as ‘extremely disappointing’.

He said: “While children in the North West generally get off to a slow start in the early years, they tend to achieve well by the end of primary school. However, the chances for older pupils to do as well as they should are very mixed.

“It is also the third successive year where we haven’t seen an improvement in secondary standards, which is extremely disappointing.”

But Cllr Dave Harling, executive member for schools and education at Blackburn with Darwen council said: “We are pleased that the significant work in our schools is being recognised in the annual report. We are proud of the fact that schools in Blackburn with Darwen are performing better than the national and regional average and that children who go to school in the borough get a positive and rewarding educational experience.”

Cllr Susie Charles, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: "I'm really proud of these results. They are a testament to the high quality of the teaching in our schools and the commitment of pupils and their families to learning. And they show that the overall standard of education in Lancashire is up there with the best in the region."