School Chooser

Watling View School

Special · ages 2-19MixedCouncil115 pupilsSixth formNurserySt AlbansHertfordshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance84.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families39%Far more than most schools
Pupils per teacher6.5School workforce census
Pupils on roll115Census January 2026

Watling View School is a council special school in St Albans for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 115 pupils. About 39 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

Watling View, St Albans, AL1 2NU01727 850560watlingview.herts.sch.ukMr Andy Scott headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

9 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

6 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2019 to 2025
2019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2019: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017HertfordshireEngland
Pupils tested6126614
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%10%8%
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%0%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Hertfordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll115Census January 2026
Pupils from low-income families37%39% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English41%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%115 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)39%£52,800 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls77 / 38
White British pupils36%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Hertfordshire with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (103), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (11), Physical disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll11511199989090
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals37%34%36%37%33%33%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language41%41%37%38%36%36%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 84.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance84.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school33.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence15.8%17.1%15.3%10.8%8.8%11.3%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence14.9%17.1%14.5%10.7%8.8%10.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.9%0.0%0.8%0.1%0.0%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence33.7%34.5%35.0%27.8%27.3%36.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.70.00.00.01.1
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00110

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 8 pupils who left in 2020/21 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training100%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers2016/17 leavers
Still in education, work or training100%100%100%
Education100%100%100%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%
Work0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training0%0%0%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers17.7full-time equivalent, 20 people
Pupils per teacher6.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers75%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants56.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£47,452
Teachers who left in the year14%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.42024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£31,995England £32,258. Total £3.6m
Income per pupil£31,131England £32,367. Total £3.5m
Spent on teachers per pupil£10,669England £11,930
Money in reserve10%A healthy amount put by: £345k, £3,106 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out-£96kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£31,995spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m18412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate120 per 1,000 people32% higher than the England average
Typical house price£621,000St Albans
Nearest bus stop80 mWatling View School, 9 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Mandeville Primary SchoolAcademy230 m340Report card 202673Compare
St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic330 m194Good 202283Compare
The Marlborough Science AcademyAcademy640 m1,337Good 202340Compare
Killigrew Primary and Nursery SchoolCouncil940 m412Good 202492Compare
St Columba's CollegeIndependent0.7 miles822Not inspectedCompare
St Peter's SchoolCouncil0.8 miles392Good 202383Compare
The Abbey Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St AlbansChurch of England0.9 miles189Good 201997Compare
St Albans Independent CollegeIndependent1.0 miles70Not inspectedCompare

Questions parents ask

Is Watling View School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Watling View School yet.

How good are Watling View School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Watling View School have?

115 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026.

What is attendance like at Watling View School?

Pupils were in school 84.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 34% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Watling View School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for autism, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

Does Watling View School have a sixth form?

Yes.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Watling View, St Albans, AL1 2NU
Telephone
01727 850560
Website
www.watlingview.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Andy Scott
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Hertfordshire
Ward
Sopwell
Constituency
St Albans
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
117683 · LAESTAB 9197026 · UKPRN 10015813

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from