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The Orchard Primary School

Primary Ages 3-11 434 pupils Watford
All schools in Watford

The Orchard Primary School is an academy converter in Watford for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has 434 pupils on roll. In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 3-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Gammons Lane
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD24 5JW
Phone 01923672280
Reference Number 145352

General Makeup

Number of pupils 434
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 48.39%
Girls: 51.61%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 14.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 56.9%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 28.9
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 28
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 29.6

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 29 30 59
2 19 36 55
3 34 25 59
4 31 29 60
5 33 27 60
6 33 25 58

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 22.6%
Indian 21.2%
Pakistani 14.3%
White, Other 12.9%
Mixed, Other 5.8%
African 5.1%
Asian, Other 4.6%
White & Asian 2.8%
White & Black (Caribbean) 1.8%
Caribbean 1.8%
Unclassified 1.4%
Chinese 0.2%
White & Black (African) 0.2%

Overall Ofsted Rating
Last Report Date 21 Jun 2022 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
21 Jun 2022 School inspection
06 Feb 2018 Academy conversion letter
26 Jan 2016 Short inspection
Previously as The Orchard Primary School
28 Mar 2014 Interim assessment
19 May 2011 Full inspection:
30 Apr 2009 Curriculum and development visit
15 May 2008 Full inspection:
20 Oct 2003 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 70%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 20%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 108
Maths 108

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 0.4
Writing 3.1
Maths 4

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 47 9
Third Preference 41 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 The Orchard Primary School had 412 pupils for 420 places. 8 places (1.9%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Mid Watford Primary” planning area

Hertfordshire counted 294 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 302 in 2029–30, up 3%.

2018201920212022202320242025
Places 450450450450420420420
Pupils 416444435443415408412
Unfilled 7.6%1.3%3.3%1.6%1.2%2.9%1.9%

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Orchard Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

2018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.0%2.7%2.0%4.7%4.4%3.3%3.3%
Unauthorised absence 0.6%0.8%0.4%0.9%0.9%0.8%0.7%
Severely absent pupils 0.3%0.0%0.8%0.0%0.0%0.3%0.0%

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at The Orchard Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.01.10.80.20.20.00.00.0
Permanent exclusions 00000000

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Orchard Primary School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 11.611.511.411.112.612.211.710.6
Teachers who left state teaching 9.1%13.3%12.3%15.8%3.1%0.0%0.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 64.0%–60.7%69.0%58.3%52.0%60.9%–
Sick days per teacher 3.5–3.59.12.51.21.5–

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.9% of pupils at The Orchard Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 24 3
Autistic spectrum disorder 12 9
Specific learning difficulty 6 2
Moderate learning difficulty 7 0
No specialist assessment of need 3 0
Social, emotional and mental health 2 0
Down's syndrome 0 1
Other difficulty or disability 1 0
Physical disability 1 0

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Orchard Primary School received £6,271 and spent £6,430 for each of its 424 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £312,000 (£737 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Agora Learning Partnership, income was £7,271 and spending £7,551 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

201920202021202220232025
Revenue reserve £338,000£382,000£454,000£516,000£607,000£312,000
per pupil £735£832£996£1,151£1,422£737
In-year balance -£8,000£26,000£30,000£149,000£30,000-£68,000
per pupil -£16£57£65£333£70-£160

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

Name Distance
Beechfield School
Gammons Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 5TY
0.39 miles
Cherry Tree Primary School
Berry Avenue, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 6ST
0.4 miles
Holy Rood Catholic Primary School
Greenbank Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 4FS
0.57 miles
Kingsway Junior School
Briar Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 0JH
0.66 miles
Kingsway Infants' School
North Approach, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 0ES
0.69 miles
Nascot Wood Junior School
Nascot Wood Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 4YS
0.7 miles
Nascot Wood Infant and Nursery School
Nascot Wood Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 4YT
0.71 miles
Kingswood Nursery School
Briar Road, Watford, WD25 0DX
0.8 miles
Leavesden JMI School
High Road, Leavesden, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 7QZ
0.82 miles
Cassiobury Infant and Nursery School
Bellmount Wood Avenue, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 3PE
0.92 miles
Parkgate Junior School
Southwold Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 7DN
0.93 miles
Parkgate Infants' and Nursery School
Northfield Gardens, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 7RL
0.93 miles
Stanborough Primary School
Appletree Walk, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 0DQ
0.95 miles
Cassiobury Junior School
Bellmount Wood Avenue, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 3PD
1.01 miles
The Grove Academy
Fourth Avenue, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 9RH
1.19 miles
Knutsford Primary Academy
Balmoral Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 7ER
1.28 miles
Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery
The Brow, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 7NX
1.29 miles
St Paul's Church of England Primary School, Langleybury
Langleybury Lane, Hunton Bridge, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8RJ
1.36 miles
Tanners Wood Junior Mixed and Infant School
Hazelwood Lane, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, WD5 0LG
1.38 miles
Lanchester Primary School
Hempstead Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 3HD
1.38 miles
Name Distance
Stanborough Secondary School
Stanborough Park, Watford, WD25 9JT
0.81 miles
Elderwood House School
Lumos Building, Leavesden Studios, Warner Drive, Leavesden, WD25 7LP
0.89 miles
West Herts College
Watford Campus, Hempstead Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 3EZ
1.39 miles
Future Academies Watford
Horseshoe Lane, Garston, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 7HW
1.51 miles
Garston Manor School
Horseshoe Lane, Garston, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 7HR
1.53 miles
Breakspeare School
Gallows Hill Lane, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, WD5 0BU
1.58 miles
Watford Grammar School for Boys
Rickmansworth Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 7JF
1.75 miles
Saint Michael's Catholic High School
High Elms Lane, Garston, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 0SS
1.77 miles
Parmiter's School
High Elms Lane, Garston, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 0UU
1.88 miles
Watford Grammar School for Girls
Lady's Close, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 0AE
2.05 miles
Croxley Danes School
Baldwins Lane, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 3LR
2.07 miles
Westfield Academy
Tolpits Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 6NS
2.3 miles
The Purcell School
2.41 miles
Queens' School
Aldenham Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, WD23 2TY
2.42 miles
The Grange Academy
London Road, Bushey, WD23 3AA
3.01 miles
Falconer School
Falconer Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, WD23 3AT
3.01 miles
Rickmansworth School
Scots Hill, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 3AQ
3.05 miles
Merchant Taylors' School
Sandy Lodge, Northwood, HA6 2HT
3.22 miles
Kings Langley School
Love Lane, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 9HN
3.25 miles
Seva Education St Albans
Hazel Road, Park Street, St Albans, AL2 2AH
3.38 miles

All schools in Watford · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

The Orchard Primary School is part of Agora Learning Partnership, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

How many pupils does The Orchard Primary School have?

The Orchard Primary School has 434 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Orchard Primary School cover?

The Orchard Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are The Orchard Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Orchard Primary School?

The Orchard Primary School is at Gammons Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 5JW.

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