Highwood Primary School

Community school·Primary school Bushey, Hertfordshire·WD23 2AW
Composite score
32.5
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#12,879
National rank
#1415
In East of England
#299
In Hertfordshire
Top 88%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
41%
% achieving higher RWM
5%
Reading average scaled score
106.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
103.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Early years provision
Outstanding

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
95%
58 first choices, 60 places
First choices per place
0.97
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
98
any preference, for 60 places
Last place offered lived
2.57 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 4128 m
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.07
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9020221.0320231.0320240.9020250.972026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
3–11
Pupils on roll
439
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
19.2%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
29.4%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
14.8%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
2.0%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.0%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
14.9%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
22.3
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£6,375
Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Location

About Highwood Primary School

Highwood Primary School is a primary school in Bushey, Hertfordshire, classified by the DfE as a community school. Around 439 pupils aged 3 to 11 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. 41% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, well below the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has fallen by 4.0 percentage points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 106 in reading and 103 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 5% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). 95% of the families who made Highwood Primary School their first choice were offered a Reception place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 2.57 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. Overall pupil absence was 6.0%. There are about 22.3 pupils per teacher. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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