Saint Michael's Catholic High School
High Elms Lane, Garston, Watford, WD25 0SS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Edward Conway
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Constituency
- South West Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,103
- Pupils on roll
- 1,130
- URN
- 137922
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923673760
About this school
Saint Michael's Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Watford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,130 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- 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 | 175 | 174 | 178 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.4 | 51.2 | 50.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.24 +0.03 to +0.45 | +0.13 -0.09 to +0.34 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 57% | 50.6% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 75.9% | 73% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 36.8% | 48.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
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 Saint Michael's Catholic High 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 | 54.4 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.2 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.9 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,127 |
| 2023/24 | 1,106 |
| 2024/25 | 1,121 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Saint Michael's Catholic High School compares
Saint Michael's Catholic High School ranked 35th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.9 | 6.9% | 15.7% | 1,130 | — |
| Future Academies Watford | 39.8 | 9.9% | 35.1% | 1,060 | 0.3 miles |
| Parmiter's School | 66.5 | 5.7% | 9.2% | 1,496 | 0.3 miles |
| Queens' School | 57.5 | 5.6% | 11.4% | 1,697 | 2.9 miles |
| The Marlborough Science Academy | 43.4 | 9.8% | 22.3% | 1,337 | 3.1 miles |
| Watford Grammar School for Girls | 68.2 | 6.7% | 7.2% | 1,427 | 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)
- 15.66%
- English as an additional language
- 7.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.9%
- Persistent absence
- 18.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Future Academies Watford0.3 miles
Secondary · Watford
-
Parmiter's School0.3 miles
Secondary · Watford
-
Queens' School2.9 miles
Secondary · Bushey
-
The Marlborough Science Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · St Albans
-
Watford Grammar School for Girls3.3 miles
Secondary · Watford
Other schools in Watford
Saint Michael's Catholic High School ranks 4th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Watford.
- Future Academies Watford Secondary
- Parmiter's 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 year groups does Saint Michael's Catholic High School teach?
- Saint Michael's Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Watford.
- Who is the headteacher of Saint Michael's Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of Saint Michael's Catholic High School is Mr Edward Conway, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Saint Michael's Catholic High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Saint Michael's Catholic High 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 Saint Michael's Catholic High School?
- Saint Michael's Catholic High School has 1,130 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Saint Michael's Catholic High School full?
- Saint Michael's Catholic High School has capacity for 1,103 pupils and 1,130 on roll (102%), 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 Saint Michael's Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. Saint Michael's Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Is Saint Michael's Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. Saint Michael's Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Saint Michael's Catholic High School?
- Saint Michael's Catholic High School is part of THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Saint Michael's Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.4 in 2022/23 and 50.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Saint Michael's Catholic High School rank locally?
- Saint Michael's Catholic High School ranked 35th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Saint Michael's Catholic High School's absence rate?
- Saint Michael's Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Saint Michael's Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Saint Michael's Catholic High 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.