This article provides brief details of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s in the borough of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Some Watford children attend schools in the neighbouring boroughs of Three Rivers and

Hertsmere Hertsmere is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough borders the three north London ...

. All of the state-funded primary schools in Watford are

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

. There are two

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

schools in the borough, both of which are

voluntary aided school A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In mo ...

s. The remaining schools are all non-faith

community schools Community school may refer to: * Community school (England and Wales), a type of state-funded school in which the local education authority employs the school's staff, is responsible for the school's admissions and owns the school's estate * Commun ...

. The

Local Education Authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...

. There are still some linked pairs of

infant school An infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary school ...

s and

junior school A Junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at Infant school which covers the age range 5–7. (As both Infant and Junior schools are giving Primary E ...

s, with the infant school covering Reception and

Key Stage 1 Key Stage 1 is the legal term for the two years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 1 and Year 2, when pupils are aged between 5 and 7. This Key Stage normally covers pupils during infant school, although i ...

(Years 1 and 2) and the junior school covering

Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The t ...

(Years 3 to 6). However most have been amalgamated in a single Junior Mixed Infant (JMI) school or (equivalently) primary school.

Central Watford, West Watford and Oxhey

In the mid-19th century, the only schools in Watford were Mrs Fuller's Free School (established in 1704), by now in a poor state, and St Mary's National Schools (separate schools for boys and girls, founded in 1841). They were joined in 1859 by British schools, initially in Red Lion Yard and later moving to Sotheron Road (girls) and Beechen Grove (boys). Another set of National schools, attached to St Andrew's Church, were founded in 1860. The Free School closed in 1882, and its endowment contributed to founding the Watford Endowed Schools, which provided secondary education and charged fees. St Mary's National Schools closed in 1922, and the site is now occupied by the multi-storey Church car park. The Watford

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

was established in 1883, and was chaired by Edward Mitchell Chater throughout its existence. The British schools and St Andrew's national schools became board schools the following year. The first new schools built by the board were the Watford Fields Schools, now known as the Field Schools. The infants school moved to its present site in 1981. The British boys' school closed in 1897, with the opening of Fearnly Street School, renamed Victoria School in 1903. The St Andrew's national schools continued until 1922. Following the

Education Act 1902 The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7 c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial Act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conservat ...

, the school board was abolished in 1903, and control of the schools passed to the

. The original Chater Schools, named after Edward Chater, consisted of two separate buildings on the site now occupied by the infants school, with juniors entering from Southsea Avenue, and infants from Harwoods Road. The schools were rebuilt in 1988, with the junior school moving to the site of the former Victoria School. Bushey and Oxhey Infant School was founded as Oxhey Village School, taking the name Oxhey Infants when it was rebuilt and enlarged in the 1960s. More recently it has been renamed Bushey and Oxhey Infants School It is linked with Bushey Manor Junior School (see Primary schools in Hertsmere). Central Primary School occupies a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building built in 1884 to house the

Watford Grammar School for Boys Go Forward with Preparation , established = 1884 ( Single-sex) , type = partially selective academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Ian A. Cooksey , r_head_label = , ...

, which moved to West Watford in 1912.

Watford Grammar School for Girls Watford Grammar School for Girls (commonly abbreviated WGGS) is an academy for girls in Watford in Hertfordshire, UK. Despite its name, it is only a partially selective school, with 25% of entrants admitted on academic ability and 10% on musica ...

resided in the smaller building next door in the same period. The buildings then housed the Watford

Central School A central school was a selective secondary education school with a focus on technical and commercial skills in the English education system. It was positioned between the more academic grammar schools and the ordinary elementary schools where m ...

until its move to

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

in 1950 to become Bushey Grammar School, one of the predecessors of

Queens' School Queens' School, near Watford, Hertfordshire, is a partially selective secondary school and sixth form with academy status. It currently is a specialist science and sports college. History The story of Queens' begins with two schools in Watf ...

. (The legend "Higher Elementary Schools", in terracotta tiles on the front of the building, replaced the earlier "Watford Endowed Schools" at the time of the Central School.) The school badge is based on that of the Watford Central School, which featured a crosslet fitchy and a

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...

, details from the arms of Capell (

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

) and Villiers (

Earl of Clarendon Earl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice in British history, in 1661 and 1776. The family seat is Holywell House, near Swanmore, Hampshire. First creation of the title The title was created for the first time in the Peer ...

) respectively, though the crosslet has since been altered to a sword. A proposal to open a one-form entry

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

school in Tolpits Lane, West Watford has been approved by

and passed to the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was replac ...

for a final decision.

North Watford and Garston

The Watford school board also built two schools (both since closed) in North Watford: a Callowland Boys' School (1892, ) and Alexandra Mixed School (1901, ). The higher elementary department of Alexandra School later became a

secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

in Bushey, the other predecessor of

. Berrygrove Primary School replaced Meriden Primary, Garston Infants and Lea Farm Junior (formerly Garston Junior) Schools. The Cassiobury schools lie within the affluent

Cassiobury The Cassiobury Estate is a suburban residential area of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. It is bounded to the south by Cassiobury Park, the main public park in the town, to the west by playing fields next to the River Gade, and to the northea ...

estate, and are heavily oversubscribed, with 4 applicants per place.Starting Primary School
, Hertfordshire County Council. The junior school has the highest

results in Watford, and half of the pupils typically go on to

and

. The schools' badge features an

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara does ...

over the arms of the Capell family (

Earls of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new crea ...

), owners of the original

, which included the site of the modern estate. Holy Rood Catholic Primary School is the oldest Roman Catholic school in Watford, started by the

Dominican sisters The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

as St Vincent's, a

board school School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools. School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaignin ...

in Beechen Grove. In 1893 the school moved to a new building (now Grade II listed) adjacent to Holy Rood church in central Watford, taking its new name from the church in 1896. It taught pupils up to the age of 14 until the opening of St. Michael's Catholic High School in 1955, when it became a primary school. After many decades of overcrowding, the school moved to its present site in 1969. Knutsford Primary School lost its original school building in a fire in November 1999. After three years in temporary accommodation in the school fields, the school moved into a new building on the original site in 2002. The school is oversubscribed, with 3.5 applicants per place. The Nascot Wood schools, within the affluent

Nascot Wood Nascot Wood is the colloquial name for the largely residential area of Watford (Hertfordshire) that is located to the north-west of the town centre. The area has a relatively large number of mature trees, which help give it more of a leafy charact ...

area, are the most oversubscribed in Watford, with nearly 5 applicants for each place. The area was formerly part of the Cassiobury Park estate of the

. The school badge, an

over a

monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...

"SX", was the mark of the 5th Earl, George Capell-Coningsby (1757–1839). Parkgate Junior School was originally a boys' school, becoming mixed in August 1921.Our School History
Parkgate Junior School.

References

{{Schools in Hertfordshire, primary Schools in Watford