Schools near Watford
51 open schools in Watford, Hertfordshire · Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and admission criteria · see all Hertfordshire schools · grammar schools in Watford
Watford has 51 state schools: 37 primary, 7 secondary, part of Hertfordshire's wider catchment. 42 have a published Ofsted rating, and 34 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Undersubscribed schools rated Good or Outstanding
These schools didn't fill on first preference in the latest admissions year, despite an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding — worth a look if you're chasing the same handful of famous names everyone else applies to.
How places are allocated in Hertfordshire
Primary schools: 'Priority area' is explicit in the primary admission rules. (source)
Secondary schools: 'Priority area' also explicit for secondary/upper schools. (source)
Most schools use the local authority's default scheme rather than a school-specific catchment map — see each school's page for its own designated/catchment area where one is published.
Watford straddles a council boundary: the scheme above is Hertfordshire's, and Harrow also has schools here, applying under its own.
Key dates
| Entry year | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 2028 | Application deadline | 31 October 2027 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary application deadline | 15 January 2028 |
| Sept 2028 | Offer day | 1 March 2028 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary offer day | 17 April 2028 |
| Sept 2027 | Application deadline | 31 October 2026 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary application deadline | 15 January 2027 |
| Sept 2027 | Offer day | 1 March 2027 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary offer day | 16 April 2027 |
| Sept 2026 | Application deadline | 31 October 2025 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary application deadline | 15 January 2026 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Offer day | 2 March 2026 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary offer day | 16 April 2026 (passed) |
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