Highwood Primary School, Bushey
Highwood Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Bushey. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2023. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 7th-highest of the 8 schools in Bushey with published results, and 12,253rd of 14,452 across England. It was 97% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2023)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Hertfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Highwood Primary School in detail
Highwood Primary School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "We are ambitious about every child in our care, and we recognise that it takes an entire community to educate and nurture a child. Our Parents Association called Friends of Highwood, the Governors, the school team are respectful and work together for the children and their families."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, dance and art.
The school runs a breakfast club from 6:00am and after-school care, from £6.00 per day.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils at Highwood Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 61% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 79% and 76% in Hertfordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 72% in reading and 72% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Highwood Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 58 families put Highwood Primary School as their first choice and 98 named it as one of their preferences, for 60 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 3 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Highwood Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Highwood Primary School are Knutsford Primary Academy (0.6 miles, Good, 83% reading, 78% maths); Central Primary School (1 mile, Requires improvement, 81% reading, 79% maths); Parkgate Junior School (1 mile, Outstanding, 68% reading, 73% maths); and Watford St John's Church of England Primary School (1 mile, Good, 80% reading, 72% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Highwood Primary School.
Knutsford Primary AcademyCentral Primary SchoolParkgate Junior SchoolWatford St John's Church of England Primary School
Who goes there
25.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (43%), Asian (14%) and Mixed (12%).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Watford Junction Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Scottswood Road (near), 110 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Highwood Primary School issued 12 suspensions, 2.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Highwood Primary School are Queens' School (0.6 miles) and Bushey Meads School (1.6 miles).
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 3 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its June 2023 inspection.
Rated Outstanding for
Early years.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management.
At a Glance
19.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 72% to 66% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 72% to 61% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 54% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
29.1
Avg class size
29.7
Infant (KS1)
28.7
KS2
14
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Highwood Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Highwood Primary School.
- Marie Redmond TuitionAt the school · Not yet graded
- North Bushey Baptist Church280m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Highwood Primary School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Hertfordshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Monday 12 April to Thursday 22 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028)
- Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Highwood Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Highwood Primary School is in Hertfordshire; for families living there:
- Hertfordshire's school travel policy: Read the home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 7
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 4 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot.
2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Highwood Primary School
Will you get a place at Highwood Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Highwood Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Highwood Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Highwood Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Hertfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Highwood Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Hertfordshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
97%
Near capacity
408 pupils
420 places
12 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bushey
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bushey
Across Hertfordshire council
Places available
14,776
Applications
12,543
Got 1st preference
89.1%
Got preferred school
98.4%
All primary applications across Hertfordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
53
SEN Support
17
EHC Plans
15.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
445
Total Pupils
231
Boys
214
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
23
Teachers
19.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,421
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,431
Per pupil
£2442k
Total funding
£111k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.4%
Overall absence
12.5%
Persistent absence
360
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Highwood Primary School
Questions parents ask about Highwood Primary School
What are SATs results like at Highwood Primary School?
Of the pupils at Highwood Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 66% reached the expected standard in reading and 61% did so in maths.
What is Highwood Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Highwood Primary School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2023.
What is the catchment area for Highwood Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Highwood Primary School is oversubscribed, Hertfordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Highwood Primary School?
Highwood Primary School was close to full in 2025, at 97% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Highwood Primary School?
Classes at Highwood Primary School average 29.1 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Highwood Primary School?
Highwood Primary School has around 445 pupils on roll. 19% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Highwood Primary School?
5.4% of sessions were missed at Highwood Primary School in 2024/25. 12.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Highwood Primary School?
Apply through Hertfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Highwood Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Highwood Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Marie Redmond Tuition (registered, not yet graded). There is another within a kilometre. The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
What are Highwood Primary School's term dates?
Highwood Primary School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Hertfordshire. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Monday 12 April to Thursday 22 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027). In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028); Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Highwood Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 4 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot. 2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Highwood Primary School?
Highwood Primary School is at Mead Way, Bushey, Hertfordshire, WD23 2AW.
Sources: Hertfordshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)