Watford St John's Church of England Primary School
32 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England/Christian
- Trust
- POPPY ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Anna Pyatt
- Religious ethos
- Church of England
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
- Constituency
- Watford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 401
- URN
- 142221
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923255017
About this school
Watford St John's Church of England Primary School is a primary academy in Watford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 401 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 28 | 28 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 43% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 14% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 68% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 64% | 57% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 57% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -5.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.20 | - | - |
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 Watford St John's Church of England 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 | 54% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 43% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 346 |
| 2023/24 | 380 |
| 2024/25 | 410 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Watford St John's Church of England Primary School compares
Watford St John's Church of England Primary School ranked 165th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 4.1% | 12.2% | 401 | — |
| Central Primary School | 69% | 5.4% | 22.9% | 399 | 0.3 miles |
| Chater Junior School | 63% | 5.6% | 15.4% | 237 | 0.4 miles |
| Lanchester Primary School | 73% | 5.5% | 15% | 298 | 0.5 miles |
| Chater Infant School | — | 6.4% | 13.4% | 223 | 0.6 miles |
| Field Junior School | 85% | 4.6% | 24.1% | 244 | 0.6 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)
- 12.2%
- English as an additional language
- 48.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.11%
- Persistent absence
- 9.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Central Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Chater Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Lanchester Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Chater Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Field Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Watford
Other schools in Watford
Watford St John's Church of England Primary School ranks 19th 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 year groups does Watford St John's Church of England Primary School teach?
- Watford St John's Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Watford.
- Who is the headteacher of Watford St John's Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Watford St John's Church of England Primary School is Miss Anna Pyatt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Watford St John's Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Watford St John's Church of England 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 big is Watford St John's Church of England Primary School?
- Watford St John's Church of England Primary School has 401 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Watford St John's Church of England Primary School full?
- Watford St John's Church of England Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 401 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Watford St John's Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Watford St John's Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England/Christian, in the Diocese of St Albans.
- Does Watford St John's Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Watford St John's Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Watford St John's Church of England Primary School?
- Watford St John's Church of England Primary School is part of POPPY ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Watford St John's Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Watford St John's Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Watford St John's Church of England Primary School ranked 165th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Watford St John's Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Watford St John's Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Watford St John's Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Watford St John's Church of England 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 8 July 2026.