The Orchard Primary School
Primary · Academy converter · Ages 3–11 · Watford, Hertfordshire
Last distance offered · Reception 2026
1.97 miles
Published by Hertfordshire County Council · offers on 16 April 2026
Reception last distance offered, 2019–2026 (miles)
The Orchard Primary School is a primary school in Watford, Hertfordshire for ages 3–11 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 22 June 2022. Hertfordshire has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2015 to 2026 entry.
The Orchard Primary School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2026 | 1.97 mi |
| Reception 2025 | 2.16 mi |
| Reception 2024 | 1.00 mi |
| Reception 2023 | 7.13 mi |
| Reception 2022 | 1.76 mi |
| Reception 2021 | 5.77 mi |
| Reception 2020 | 1.15 mi |
| Reception 2019 | 0.57 mi |
| Reception 2018 | 0.47 mi |
| Reception 2017 | 0.25 mi |
| Reception 2016 | 0.57 mi |
| Reception 2015 | 0.53 mi |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- In 2026, the last child offered a Reception place lived 1.97 miles away, 7th longest of 275 Hertfordshire primary schools with a published last distance (middle figure 0.46 miles).
- The 2026 Reception last distance was about the same as in 2025 and further than in 2015, and it swung sharply between some years.
- Reception 2026 had 36 first-choice applications for 46 offers; every first-choice family was offered a place, and 10 offers went to families ranking it second or lower.
- In 2024/25, 70% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of primary school (England 62%), and 20% reached the higher standard (England 8%).
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Hertfordshire schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Gammons Lane, Watford, WD24 5JW
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 3–11
- Council
- Hertfordshire
- Pupils on roll
- 434 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 14.3% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 22.4
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 22 June 2022
Strengths
- “Pupils have wonderful opportunities at The Orchard Primary School.”
- “They can be themselves and are respected for who they are.”
- “Pupils grow into responsible and thoughtful young people.”
To improve
- “Leaders have not designed the curriculum in the early years with the same level of ambition and detail as in the rest of the school.”
- “Teachers are not clear on the exact knowledge children need to know in some subject areas.”
- “Children do not leave Reception as well prepared to begin to learn in Year 1 in some subjects.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 20 July 2022 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| Key stage 2 · reading, writing and maths, expected standard (2024/25) | 70% | 62% |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 36 first-preference applications, 46 offers in total, 36 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in Hertfordshire.
- Beechfield School 0.4 mi Good Last distance published
- Cherry Tree Primary School 0.4 mi Good Last distance published
- Holy Rood Catholic Primary School 0.6 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- Kingsway Junior School 0.7 mi Good
- Kingsway Infants' School 0.7 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Nascot Wood Junior School 0.7 mi Outstanding
- Nascot Wood Infant and Nursery School 0.7 mi Good Last distance published
- Leavesden JMI School 0.8 mi Good Last distance published
More in Hertfordshire
- All 1,050 schools and nurseries in Hertfordshire
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