A town in Hertfordshire
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are above England, and results at 16 were above England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Watford at a glance
How Watford's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
39 mainstream schools in Watford, best first
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1188%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
68 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1184%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1185%
England 62%
7 mainstream schools in Watford, best first
Results well above the England average.
486 first choices, 205 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1665.0
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
359 first choices, 203 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1665.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
396 first choices, 211 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1666.3
England 46.2
47 in Watford, highest Ofsted grade first
Watford, WD25 0EA · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Watford, WD17 4YS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Watford, WD25 0DX · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
9 in Watford, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
486 first choices, 205 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1665.0
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
359 first choices, 203 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1665.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
396 first choices, 211 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1666.3
England 46.2
3 in Watford. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Watford, WD19 7UY · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bushey, WD23 3AT · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16 · Boys
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Watford, WD25 7HR · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
3 in Watford. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Watford, WD25 0DQ · Independent · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Leavesden, WD25 7LP · Independent · Secondary · Ages 10 to 18
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Watford, WD25 9JT · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Independent school. Results well below the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1629.8
England 46.2
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every Watford school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 40 inspected are Good or better.
47nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
96% Good or better. 68% met the standard at 11.
42schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 2 inspected are Good or better. 61% got grade 5 in English and maths.
12schools
All 3 inspected are Good or better. About 6 pupils per teacher.
3schools
Here's how Watford's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
WatfordEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 27 primaries with one.
96%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
2 of the 2 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
68%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
61%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
17%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
16%
Latest graded inspection for the 36 schools that have one.
97%
Good or Outstanding
Watford in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Watford has 100 schools and nurseries.
There are 4% more pupils than in 2018.
16% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Watford's state schools each January.
Up 4% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Watford16%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Watford has 100 schools, including 42 primary schools, 12 secondary schools, 47 nurseries, 3 independent schools, 3 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Watford on Eduscope are Nascot Wood Junior School, Holy Rood Catholic Primary School, Parmiter's School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
97% of inspected schools in Watford hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 11 schools rated Outstanding and 24 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Watford, 68% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Watford is 17.9:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Watford is 17.4%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 21,193 pupils enrolled across schools in Watford, with 11,835 in primary and 9,198 in secondary. 15.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 3 independent schools in Watford. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Watford on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 100 schools in Watford by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
