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Schools: Watford Boys, Watford Girls, Parmiter's, Rickmansworth, Queens', St Clement Danes, Croxley Danes.
Registration Opens: Open Now (as of April 1, 2026).
Registration Deadline: June 5, 2026.
Exam Date: September 5, 2026 (Academic).
Test Type: GL Assessment (Math and Verbal Reasoning only).
Pass Mark: No fixed pass mark; ranked by score.
Website: swhertsschools.org.uk
A quick heads-up: The Watford schools are "partially selective," meaning they reserve a specific percentage of seats for high scorers (usually 25%), while the rest are allocated based on other criteria like distance or siblings.
A quick heads-up: The Watford schools are "partially selective," meaning they reserve a specific percentage of seats for high scorers (usually 25%), while the rest are allocated based on other criteria like distance or siblings.
The "Two-Area" System (Watford Grammar Schools)
The "Two-Area" System (Watford Grammar Schools)
Both Watford Boys and Watford Girls split their academic and music seats between two geographic zones to ensure local children get priority:
Both Watford Boys and Watford Girls split their academic and music seats between two geographic zones to ensure local children get priority:
Watford Area: Roughly 60% of the specialist seats are reserved for children living in the central Watford postcodes (WD17, WD18, WD19, WD23, WD24, WD25, and parts of WD3).
Rest of Admission Area: The remaining 40% of specialist seats go to children in the wider surrounding areas (including parts of HA3, HA5, HA6, AL2, and other WD postcodes).
Note: If you live outside both of these areas, your child can still take the test, but they will only be considered after all applicants from within the admission areas have been processed.
Note: If you live outside both of these areas, your child can still take the test, but they will only be considered after all applicants from within the admission areas have been processed.
How "Passing" Works
How "Passing" Works
There is no fixed pass mark.
There is no fixed pass mark.
The schools rank all applicants by their standardized score.
If a school has 50 academic seats, they offer them to the top 50 scorers who listed that school as their preference.
Historical Context: In previous years, a score of 190–200+ (out of a total range of roughly 140–282) was often needed for an academic seat at the most competitive schools like Watford Boys/Girls or Parmiter's
Distance Still Matters
Even if your child doesn't score in the top 25%, you can still get a seat under the Distance Criterion.
Even if your child doesn't score in the top 25%, you can still get a seat under the Distance Criterion.
For schools like Rickmansworth or St Clement Danes, about 90–97% of all seats (including distance seats) go to residents within their "priority postcodes."
If you live very close to the school gates, you may not even need the test to secure a place.
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