The Orchard Primary School, Watford
The Orchard Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Watford, part of Agora Learning Partnership. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2011. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2022 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 10th-highest of the 29 schools in Watford with published results, and 3,885th of 14,452 across England. It was 98% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2011)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Hertfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
The Orchard Primary School in detail
The Orchard Primary School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "I am delighted on behalf of the staff and governors to introduce you to The Orchard Primary School. Cooperation between staff, parents and governors is an important and vital means of ensuring positive growth and development for our children."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, hockey, gymnastics, dance, drama and guitar.
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am and after-school care.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 88% of Year 6 pupils at The Orchard Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 80% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 79% and 76% in Hertfordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 88% in reading and 86% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at The Orchard Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 36 families put The Orchard Primary School as their first choice and 156 named it as one of their preferences, for 46 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at The Orchard Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to The Orchard Primary School are Beechfield School (0.4 miles, Good, 82% reading, 87% maths); Cherry Tree Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 74% reading, 83% maths); Holy Rood Catholic Primary School (0.6 miles, Outstanding, 97% reading, 94% maths); and Kingsway Junior School (0.7 miles, Good, 90% reading, 95% maths).
The Orchard Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.
Beechfield SchoolCherry Tree Primary SchoolHoly Rood Catholic Primary SchoolKingsway Junior School
The trust
The Orchard Primary School is one of 11 schools run by Agora Learning Partnership, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
14.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 56% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are Asian (41%), White British (23%) and Mixed (11%).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Watford North Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.
11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Chilcott Road (near), 120 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
The Orchard Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to The Orchard Primary School are Future Academies Watford (1.5 miles) and Saint Michael's Catholic High School (1.8 miles).
Future Academies WatfordSaint Michael's Catholic High School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from May 2011, 15 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its May 2011 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
14.3%
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 remained stable at around 88% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 86% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 90% to 80% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
28.9
Avg class size
28.0
Infant (KS1)
29.6
KS2
15
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from The Orchard Primary School
Last Day Of Term 17/7/26
6 Jul 2026
Key Information
29 Nov 2024
Newsletter Issue 5
15 Nov 2024
Newsletter Issue 4
25 Oct 2024
Stonehenge Projects
15 Oct 2024
From The Orchard Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with The Orchard Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near The Orchard Primary School.
- Junior Adventures Group @ The Orchard WD24At the school · Not yet graded
- Little Hands Adventure Club880m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
The Orchard Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Hertfordshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Orchard Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Orchard 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
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
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, 0 serious and 7 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
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 The Orchard Primary School
Will you get a place at The Orchard Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Orchard Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Orchard Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Orchard 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 The Orchard Primary School for 2018 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
98%
Near capacity
412 pupils
420 places
8 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Watford
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Watford
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: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(2)
Ungraded inspection: The school remains Good.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
56
SEN Support
15
EHC Plans
16.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
434
Total Pupils
210
Boys
224
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
22
Teachers
19.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,792
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,170
Per pupil
£2384k
Total funding
£114k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.9%
Overall absence
8.7%
Persistent absence
367
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
The Orchard Primary School
Questions parents ask about The Orchard Primary School
What are SATs results like at The Orchard Primary School?
Of the pupils at The Orchard Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 88% reached the expected standard in reading and 80% did so in maths.
What is The Orchard Primary School's Ofsted rating?
The Orchard Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in May 2011, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Orchard Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When The Orchard 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 The Orchard Primary School?
The Orchard Primary School was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at The Orchard Primary School?
Classes at The Orchard Primary School average 28.9 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Orchard Primary School?
The Orchard Primary School has around 434 pupils on roll. 14% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Orchard Primary School?
3.9% of sessions were missed at The Orchard Primary School in 2024/25. 8.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Orchard Primary School?
Apply through Hertfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming The Orchard 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 The Orchard Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Junior Adventures Group @ The Orchard WD24 (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.
How many road collisions happen near The Orchard 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, 0 serious and 7 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 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 The Orchard Primary School?
The Orchard Primary School is at Gammons Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 5JW.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)