The Grove Academy
Fourth Avenue, Watford, WD25 9RH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ASPIRE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Sarah Hennigan
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Aspire Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Watford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 710
- Pupils on roll
- 473
- URN
- 138507
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923674463
About this school
The Grove Academy is a primary academy in Watford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 473 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Grove Academy, 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 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 77 | 63 | 70 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 48% | 54% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 5% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 68% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 76% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 71% | 70% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.20 | - | - |
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 The Grove Academy 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 | 48% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 524 |
| 2023/24 | 507 |
| 2024/25 | 486 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Grove Academy compares
The Grove Academy ranked 189th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 6.6% | 33.3% | 473 | — |
| Parkgate Infants' and Nursery School | — | 5.2% | 5.7% | 202 | 0.4 miles |
| Parkgate Junior School | 58% | 4% | 14.3% | 236 | 0.7 miles |
| Cherry Tree Primary School | 48% | 6.5% | 23.3% | 445 | 0.8 miles |
| Coates Way JMI and Nursery School | 47% | 5.6% | 22.2% | 223 | 0.8 miles |
| Knutsford Primary Academy | 72% | 5% | 8.7% | 438 | 0.9 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)
- 33.26%
- English as an additional language
- 42.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.64%
- Persistent absence
- 17.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Parkgate Infants' and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Parkgate Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Cherry Tree Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Coates Way JMI and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Knutsford Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Watford
Other schools in Watford
The Grove Academy ranks 21st 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
- Central Primary 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
Common questions
- What ages does The Grove Academy teach?
- The Grove Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Watford.
- Who is the principal of The Grove Academy?
- The principal of The Grove Academy is Mrs Sarah Hennigan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Grove Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Grove Academy, 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 The Grove Academy?
- The Grove Academy has 473 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Grove Academy full?
- The Grove Academy has capacity for 710 pupils and 473 on roll (67%), 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 The Grove Academy a faith school?
- No. The Grove Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does The Grove Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Grove Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is The Grove Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Grove Academy is part of ASPIRE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Grove Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 48% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Grove Academy compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- The Grove Academy ranked 189th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Grove Academy's absence rate?
- The Grove Academy's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Grove Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Grove Academy'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.