Parmiter's School
High Elms Lane, Garston, Watford, WD25 0UU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- PARMITER'S SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Anthony Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- South West Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,392
- Pupils on roll
- 1,496
- URN
- 136899
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923671424
About this school
Parmiter's School is a secondary academy in Watford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,496 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Parmiter's School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 206 | 211 | 208 |
| Attainment 8 score | 63.5 | 68.3 | 66.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.50 +0.30 to +0.70 | +0.74 +0.54 to +0.94 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 77% | 83.4% | 80.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 91% | 94.3% | 90.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 74% | 73% | 78.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Parmiter's 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 | 63.5 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 68.3 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 66.5 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,430 |
| 2023/24 | 1,451 |
| 2024/25 | 1,464 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Parmiter's School compares
Parmiter's School ranked 4th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66.5 | 5.7% | 9.2% | 1,496 | — |
| Saint Michael's Catholic High School | 50.9 | 6.9% | 15.7% | 1,130 | 0.3 miles |
| Future Academies Watford | 39.8 | 9.9% | 35.1% | 1,060 | 0.4 miles |
| The Marlborough Science Academy | 43.4 | 9.8% | 22.3% | 1,337 | 3.0 miles |
| Queens' School | 57.5 | 5.6% | 11.4% | 1,697 | 3.2 miles |
| Kings Langley School | 48.6 | 9.1% | 15.3% | 1,122 | 3.3 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 9.23%
- English as an additional language
- 22.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.66%
- Persistent absence
- 17.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Saint Michael's Catholic High School0.3 miles
Secondary · Watford
-
Future Academies Watford0.4 miles
Secondary · Watford
-
The Marlborough Science Academy3.0 miles
Secondary · St Albans
-
Queens' School3.2 miles
Secondary · Bushey
-
Kings Langley School3.3 miles
Secondary · Kings Langley
Other schools in Watford
Parmiter's School ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Watford.
- Future Academies Watford Secondary
- Saint Michael's Catholic High School Secondary
- Watford Grammar School for Boys Secondary
- Watford Grammar School for Girls Secondary
- Westfield Academy Secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What ages does Parmiter's School teach?
- Parmiter's School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Watford.
- Who is the headteacher of Parmiter's School?
- The headteacher of Parmiter's School is Mr Anthony Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Parmiter's School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Parmiter's 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 Parmiter's School?
- Parmiter's School has 1,496 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Parmiter's School full?
- Parmiter's School has capacity for 1,392 pupils and 1,496 on roll (107%), 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 Parmiter's School a faith school?
- No. Parmiter's School has no designated religious character.
- Is Parmiter's School a selective school?
- No. Parmiter's School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Parmiter's School part of an academy trust?
- Parmiter's School is part of PARMITER'S SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Parmiter's School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 63.5 in 2022/23 and 66.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Parmiter's School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Parmiter's School ranked 4th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Parmiter's School's absence rate?
- Parmiter's School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Parmiter's School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Parmiter's 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 1 July 2026.