Colnbrook School
Hayling Road, Watford, WD19 7UY
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Caroline Aplin
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- South West Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 130
- Pupils on roll
- 130
- URN
- 117670
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02084281281
About this school
Colnbrook School is a community special school in Watford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 130 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 20 April 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 23 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -5.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.50 | - | - |
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 Colnbrook 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 | 0% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 113 |
| 2023/24 | 112 |
| 2024/25 | 129 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.36%
- English as an additional language
- 16.3%
- Overall absence
- 9.59%
- Persistent absence
- 38.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John's School1.3 miles
Independent schools · Pinner
-
Merchant Taylors' School1.4 miles
Independent schools · Northwood
-
St Margaret's School1.4 miles
Independent schools · Bushey
-
Falconer School1.6 miles
Special schools · Bushey
-
Chessbrook Education Support Centre1.7 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Watford
Other schools in Watford
- Chessbrook Education Support Centre Local authority maintained schools
- Garston Manor School Special schools
- Nisai Virtual Academy Ltd Other types
- Kingswood Nursery School Nursery
- Oxhey Nursery School Nursery
- 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
- Central Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Colnbrook School teach?
- Colnbrook School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a special school in Watford.
- Who is the headteacher of Colnbrook School?
- The headteacher of Colnbrook School is Ms Caroline Aplin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Colnbrook School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Colnbrook 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 big is Colnbrook School?
- Colnbrook School has 130 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Colnbrook School full?
- Colnbrook School has capacity for 130 pupils and 130 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Colnbrook School a faith school?
- No. Colnbrook School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Colnbrook School have?
- The schools register lists Colnbrook School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Colnbrook School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Colnbrook School's absence rate?
- Colnbrook School's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Colnbrook School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Colnbrook 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 8 July 2026.