Were you in the same class as one of these Watford celebs?

Whether you sat next to them in class or attended a few years later - you never know who might have gone on to have a glittering career in sports, music or more.

Here are some of the famous faces that attended schools in Watford:

Josh Lewsey

[Creative Commons - By Katiejane1234 CC BY-SA 4.0,]

Retired England rugby player Josh Lewsey MBE was part of the 2003 winning World Cup team. 

Born in Bromley he was raised in Sarratt where he attended Sarratt Church of England primary school.

He later attended Watford Grammar School for Boys and then attended the University of Bristol on a British Army bursary, graduating in 1998.

While at school he played for the Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Football Club. He first played for Wasps at 18 in their Colts side, before being selected for their senior team. In that season he made his first appearance for England, in the U19s against Italy.

Simon Munnery

(East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Comedian and comedy writer Simon Munnery attended Watford Boys in the late 70s and 80s. 

He read natural sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge but soon lost interest in science and joined the Footlights, an ammateur theatrical society that he later became vice-president of. 

He performs mainly to an alternative audience but has pierced the mainstream both with his BBC Radio 1 show in 1997 and his BBC 2 television series Attention Scum! in 2001.

Geri Horner

Member of the iconic Spice Girls Geri Horner, previously Halliwell, is best known as being Ginger Spice in the five-piece 90s girl band. 

With over 85 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time.

She was born at Watford General and raised on a council estate in noth Watford. 

he was educated at Watford Grammar School for Girls and Camden School for Girls.

Her Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards also became an enduring symbol of girl power and the Spice Girls. 

Rita Simons

Rita Simons (PA)

Best-known for playing Roxy Mitchell in Eastenders, Rita Simons is also the niece of billionaire businessman Lord Alan Sugar.

She attended Watford Grammar School for Girls in the late 80s and early 90s. In December 2009 she revisited the school to open the Christmas fair. 

In 2018 she starred in  I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where she was the fourth contestant to be eliminated. 

Simons has done a lot of work for charity, in 2005 she launched the RNID Christmas Concert where she announced that her daughter is deaf.

Anthony Joshua 

(Image - Nick Potts PA)

Heavyweight champion boxer Anthony Joshua, OBE grew up on the Meriden Estate in Watford and attended Kings Langley Secondary School. 

He excelled at football and athletics and broke his school's Year Nine 100 m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.

The two-time unified heavyweight champion has held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles since December 2019 and previously between 2016 and June 2019.

At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016.

One of Great Britain's most famous boxers of all time, Anthony Joshua is one of Watford's brightest stars. 

KSI 

KSI, full name Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji, is a man of many talents who first shot to fame through his Youtube channel. 

The internet sensation is also a chart-topping rapper, singer, actor and boxer famous for his boxing match with Logan Paul. 

Raised in Watford,  he was educated at Berkhamsted School where he met future Sidemen (a YouTube group) member Simon Minter.

Naughty Boy

(David Mirzoeff/PA)

Shahid Khan aka Naughty Boy is another famous star to have gone to school in Watford.

Born and raised in the area he attended Westfield School before shooting to fame in the music industry. 

He's been on tour with Pharrell Williams and worked with the likes of One Direction and Mary J Blige.

One of his best-known songs is the number one collaboration he worked on with Sam Smith, La La La. 

Bradley Walsh

(Ian West/PA)

TV legend and national sweetheart Bradley Walsh is a Watford boy through and through. 

Born in Watford he was raied in Leavesden and attended Francis Combe Academy in Garston. 

He finished school and got a job as an apprentice at the Rolls Royce aircraft  engine factory in Watford before embarking on his fantastic career in the spotlight.

With a shining career there's not much that Bradley Walsh hasn't tried his hand at, from being a former professional footballer at Brentford to playing Danny Baldwin in Coronation Street.

A loved TV host he presents shows including The Chase and Cash Trapped. 

Vinnie Jones

 (Ian West/PA)

British legend Vinnie Jones was born and raied in Watford and was educated in the area - though reports on which schools he attended have been contested.

The sporting icon played as a midfielder for Wimbledon, Leeds, Sheffield, Chelsea and QPR before embarking on his show-biz career. 

Since retiring from football he has turned his hand to acting, singing, producing and presenting. 

Some of the best known films he's had a role in are Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and  X-Men: The Last Stand. 

Do you remember any of these famous faces at your school? Let us know in the comments.

*This article has been edited after original publication.*