Cowley Hill School

Community school·Primary school Borehamwood, Hertfordshire·WD6 5DP
Composite score
62.8
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#3,196
National rank
#333
In East of England
#105
In Hertfordshire
Top 22%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
75%
% achieving higher RWM
12%
Reading average scaled score
106.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
106.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

New framework · Last inspection: 13/01/2026 · Read full report ↗

Achievement
Expected standard
Leadership and governance
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Expected standard
Inclusion
Expected standard
Safeguarding standards
Met
Early years
Expected standard

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
33 first choices, 53 places
First choices per place
0.62
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
108
any preference, for 53 places
Last place offered lived
0.55 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 883 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.20
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0820220.8220231.0220240.8220250.622026

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 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it. In 2026 the school was not oversubscribed, so no distance limit applied.

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

School profile

Age range
3–11
Pupils on roll
424
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
27.8%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
44.1%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
21.0%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
1.2%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.1%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
18.3%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
21.3
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£6,659
Typical primary: £6,960

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

Nearby primary schools

Location

Cowley Hill School at a glance

Located in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, Cowley Hill School is a primary school, classified by the DfE as a community school. The school educates roughly 424 pupils aged 3 to 11. 75% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, above the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has risen by 10.0 percentage points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 22% of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 106 in reading and 106 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 12% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Cowley Hill School their first choice was offered one of its 53 Reception places. In 2025 the furthest child offered a place lived 0.55 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 6.1%. There are about 21.3 pupils per teacher. Cowley Hill School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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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