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This article provides brief details ofprimary schools in the borough ofWatford inHertfordshire,England,United Kingdom.Some Watford children attend schools in the neighbouring boroughs ofThree Rivers andHertsmere.
All of the state-fundedprimary schools in Watford areco-educational.There are twoRoman Catholic schools in the borough, both of which arevoluntary aided schools.The remaining schools are all non-faithcommunity schools.TheLocal Education Authority isHertfordshire County Council.[1]
There are still some linked pairs ofinfant schools andjunior schools, with the infant school covering Reception andKey Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) and the junior school coveringKey Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6).However most have been amalgamated in a single Junior Mixed Infant (JMI) school or (equivalently) primary school.
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'sNational Schools (separate schools for boys and girls, founded in 1841).They were joined in 1859 byBritish 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.[2]The Free School closed in 1882, and its endowment contributed to founding theWatford Endowed Schools, which provided secondary education and charged fees.[3]St Mary's National Schools closed in 1922, and the site is now occupied by the multi-storey Church car park.[4]
The Watfordschool board 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 theField Schools.[2]The infants school moved to its present site in 1981.[5]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.[6]
Following theEducation Act 1902, the school board was abolished in 1903, and control of the schools passed to theHertfordshire County Council.[2]The originalChater 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.[7]The schools were rebuilt in 1988, with the junior school moving to the site of the former Victoria School.[7][8]
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 (seePrimary schools in Hertsmere).[9]
Central Primary School occupies aGrade II listed building built in 1884 to house theWatford Grammar School for Boys, which moved to West Watford in 1912.Watford Grammar School for Girls resided in the smaller building next door in the same period. The buildings then housed the WatfordCentral School until its move toBushey in 1950 to become Bushey Grammar School, one of the predecessors ofQueens' School. (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.)[10]
The school badge is based on that of the Watford Central School, which featured acrosslet fitchy and ascallop, details from the arms of Capell (Earl of Essex) and Villiers (Earl of Clarendon) respectively, though the crosslet has since been altered to a sword.[11][12]
A proposal to open a one-form entryMuslim school in Tolpits Lane, West Watford has been approved byHertfordshire County Council and passed to theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families for a final decision.[13]
The Watford school board also built two schools (both since closed) in North Watford: aCallowland Boys' School (1892,51°40′08″N0°23′57″W / 51.6689°N 0.3991°W /51.6689; -0.3991 (Callowland School (closed))) andAlexandra Mixed School (1901,51°40′22″N0°24′01″W / 51.6727°N 0.4002°W /51.6727; -0.4002 (Alexandra School (closed))).[2][14]The higher elementary department of Alexandra School later became asecondary modern school in Bushey, the other predecessor ofQueens' School.[15]
Berrygrove Primary School replaced Meriden Primary, Garston Infants and Lea Farm Junior (formerly Garston Junior) Schools.
TheCassiobury schools lie within the affluentCassiobury estate, and are heavily oversubscribed, with 4 applicants per place.[16]The junior school has the highestKey Stage 2 results in Watford, and half of the pupils typically go on toWatford Grammar School for Boys andWatford Grammar School for Girls.[17]The schools' badge features anearl'scoronet over the arms of the Capell family (Earls of Essex), owners of the originalCassiobury, which included the site of the modern estate.[11]
Holy Rood Catholic Primary School is the oldest Roman Catholic school in Watford, started by theDominican sisters as St Vincent's, aboard school 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.[14][18]It taught pupils up to the age of 14 until the opening ofSt. 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.[19]
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.[20] The school is oversubscribed, with 3.5 applicants per place.[16]
TheNascot Wood schools, within the affluentNascot Wood area, are the most oversubscribed in Watford, with nearly 5 applicants for each place.[16]The area was formerly part of the Cassiobury Park estate of theEarls of Essex.The school badge, anearl'scoronet over amonogram "SX", was the mark of the 5th Earl, George Capell-Coningsby (1757–1839).[21]
Parkgate Junior School was originally a boys' school, becoming mixed in August 1921.[22]