Central Primary School
Derby Road, Watford, WD17 2LX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sabriye Wright
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Watford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 399
- URN
- 117156
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923225129
About this school
Central Primary School is a community primary school in Watford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 399 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Central Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 52 | 56 | 48 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 51% | 46% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 7% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 63% | 63% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 62% | 66% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 68% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Central Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 46% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 403 |
| 2023/24 | 415 |
| 2024/25 | 411 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Central Primary School compares
Central Primary School ranked 145th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 5.4% | 22.9% | 399 | — |
| Watford St John's Church of England Primary School | 67% | 4.1% | 12.2% | 401 | 0.3 miles |
| Field Junior School | 85% | 4.6% | 24.1% | 244 | 0.5 miles |
| Watford Field School (Infant & Nursery) | — | 6.3% | 9.2% | 231 | 0.5 miles |
| Chater Junior School | 63% | 5.6% | 15.4% | 237 | 0.5 miles |
| Chater Infant School | — | 6.4% | 13.4% | 223 | 0.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report24 February 2026
- 23 May 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 22.92%
- English as an additional language
- 71.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.42%
- Persistent absence
- 15.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Watford St John's Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Field Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Watford Field School (Infant & Nursery)0.5 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Chater Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Chater Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Watford
Other schools in Watford
Central Primary School ranks 17th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Watford.
- Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Ascot Road Primary School Primary
- Beechfield School Primary
- Bromet Primary School Primary
- Cassiobury Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Cassiobury Junior School Primary
- Chater Infant School Primary
- Chater Junior School Primary
- Cherry Tree Primary School Primary
- Coates Way JMI and Nursery School Primary
- Field Junior School Primary
- Greenfields Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Central Primary School teach?
- Central Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Watford.
- Who is the headteacher of Central Primary School?
- The headteacher of Central Primary School is Mrs Sabriye Wright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Central Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Central Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Central Primary School?
- Central Primary School has 399 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Central Primary School full?
- Central Primary School has capacity for 450 pupils and 399 on roll (89%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Central Primary School a faith school?
- No. Central Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Central Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Central Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Central Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 51% in 2022/23 and 69% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Central Primary School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Central Primary School ranked 145th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Central Primary School's absence rate?
- Central Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Central Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Central Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.