Watford St John's Church of England Primary School
Free schools in Watford, WD17 1JJ, taking ages 4 to 11, 401 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 1.36 miles Hertfordshire published for latest published year, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 1.36 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.
How this compares: every Hertfordshire school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 1.36 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.
Watford St John's Church of England Primary School: 1.36 miles Chater Junior School: 0.86 miles, published by Hertfordshire
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Watford St John's Church of England Primary School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children and faith criteria come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
Source: Hertfordshire, published admission distances
Where Watford St John's Church of England Primary School and Chater Junior School are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. Chater Junior School admitted from 0.86 miles in the latest published year, published by Hertfordshire. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside both published distances, cheapest first by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is WD18 at £342,000; the dearest shown, WD17, £355,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.
| District | Area | From Watford St John's Church of England Primary School | From Chater Junior School | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD18 | Watford | 1.0 mi | 0.6 mi | £342,000 103 sales |
| WD17 | Watford | 0.6 mi | 0.7 mi | £355,000 99 sales |
Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Distances measured from each district's centre to each school's point on the Department for Education register.
Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.
Drop Chater Junior School and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Hertfordshire, 109 of 519 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (21.0%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Watford St John's Church of England Primary School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.69 mi | 0.3 mi |
| Chater Junior School Both in reach | Primary | 0.86 mi | 0.4 mi |
| Lanchester Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.4 mi | 0.5 mi |
| Chater Infant School Both in reach | Primary | 0.39 mi | 0.6 mi |
| Field Junior School Both in reach | Primary | 0.35 mi | 0.6 mi |
| Watford Field School (Infant & Nursery) Both in reach | Primary | 0.48 mi | 0.6 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | Church of England/Christian |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 401 pupils in 420 places (95% full) |
| Trust | POPPY ACADEMY TRUST |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Meeting the expected standard | 67.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Meeting the expected standard |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 67.0% |
| 2023/24 | 43.0% |
| 2022/23 | 54.0% |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Watford St John's Church of England Primary School
| Girls and boys | 48.1% girls, 51.9% boys |
| English as an additional language | 49.4% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 12.7% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
What it costs to live within reach of Watford St John's Church of England Primary School
Cheapest district inside the 1.36 miles: WD99, median £320,000. Dearest: WD24, £395,000.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| WD99 | Watford | 1.3 mi | £320,000 59 sales |
| WD18 | Watford | 1.0 mi | £342,000 103 sales |
| WD17 | Watford | 0.6 mi | £355,000 99 sales |
| WD24 | Watford | 1.1 mi | £395,000 119 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 1.36 miles the school admitted from in the latest published year, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.
Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide
Getting to Watford St John's Church of England Primary School by bus
Best-served stop: St John's Road, 156 yd away, with 27.7 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 00:01, last 23:46.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarendon Road | 48 yd | 13.0 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 321, 20, 322, 724, 725, W20 |
| Beechen Grove | 150 yd | 6.8 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 321, 328, 346, 336, W2, 635 |
| St John's Road | 156 yd | 27.7 | 11.8 | 14.0 | 258, 142, 321, W30, 20, 322 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Watford St John's Church of England Primary School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around WD17: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at WD17 1JJ, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Watford St John's Church of England Primary School?
Watford St John's Church of England Primary School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in the latest published year lived 1.36 miles away, per Hertfordshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Watford St John's Church of England Primary School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 1.36 miles was enough in the latest published year. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Watford St John's Church of England Primary School guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings and faith criteria ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every Hertfordshire school's distance
All Hertfordshire schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put Watford St John's Church of England Primary School's figure on your own site
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Admission distance published by Hertfordshire. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.