Last reviewed: March 2024

The schools’ admissions process can be pretty daunting, especially if you are applying for the first time.  You want to make sure that you have fully researched all the options and are making an informed decision, as well as being realistic about which schools you have a chance of getting in to.  This is especially important in Harpenden given that so many of our local schools can be significantly oversubscribed. Following the steps below will ensure you have all the information you need at your fingertips. 

Understand The Process 

The first place to look is the Hertfordshire County Council website.  Here you will find a wealth of information about Harpenden’s primary and secondary schools, how to apply and how places are allocated.   You will also find all the key dates and deadlines for primary and secondary school applications.  Nursery applications are not handled by Herts County Council and you must apply directly to each Nursery individually.

Take time to understand the Herts County Council admissions criteria and the criteria for any voluntary-aided schools or academies as they do not need to follow the HCC criteria and may apply rules based on other factors such as religious affiliation, quotas for specific geographical areas or offer "lottery" places. Fully understanding where you fit in the criteria will give you a better idea of your likelihood of getting a place.

There are always lots of myths and misunderstandings circulating at application time. It is important to understand that the application to each school listed on your form is treated separately based on the published criteria for that school. Your order of preference, or the other schools you included on your application has no bearing on whether or not you will be offered a place at any particular school.  The order that you rank your choices only comes into play if it is possible to offer you a place at more than one school.  In that case you will be offered whichever of those schools you ranked highest.

Do Your Research 

Before submitting your school application it may be helpful to look at the School Guru website.  There is a lot of free advice and information available on there, though there is a fee for the Admissions Calculator. 

As well as information about the primary and secondary schools’ admissions and appeals process, you can also access links to school Ofsted reports and performance statistics from the Department of Education website.  It also offers a ‘Schools Admissions Calculator’ which (for a charge) can tell you whether you would have been offered a place in your chosen school in previous school years.  This can be an invaluable source of information when choosing which schools to put on your application, however do be aware that there is no such thing as a "catchment area" in Harpenden and furthest distance admitted varies from year to year for each school, so success in a previous year is no guarantee that you will be given a place in your intake.

Your best bet is always going to be your nearest school so it is wise to include this as one of your options and be realistic about your chances of getting into schools that are far away from you as distance is the main criteria for most schools. Voluntary-Aided schools and Academies can set their own admission rules and may choose prioritise other criteria, such as church attendance so do check the exact criteria for the schools you are interested in. 

Parent View on the Ofsted website lets you see what other parents think of any school in England - a useful source of information to make an informed choice about the best school for your child.

Visit The Schools

Decide which schools you are interested in and arrange to visit them.  This will give you the best idea of what each school is like.  You can find details of the open days being held by local schools on our open days page.  Some schools do not arrange formal open days but are happy to show interested parents around the school by appointment.

Make Your Application 

Once you have done all your research, you can access the Hertfordshire County Council’s online schools admissions application system. You can use the help manuals available on the website to guide you through the online admissions process. Most importantly make sure you get your application in on time.  Also make sure you complete any additional forms required by voluntary-aided schools or academies and check the submission date for these, as it may not be the same as the deadline for the Herts County Council form.

Allocations Day and Beyond

If your child does not get offered a place at one of your preferred schools straight away don't panic!  A lot can change before September. The advice from the Local Authority is that you should accept the place you have been given to ensure your child has a place at a school.  Not accepting the place risks ending up with a school you may find less desirable, or worse, no school place at all. There is a Continued Interest process to go through which will allow you to include schools that were not in your original choices.  You can see on the County Council website a listing of schools that still have places available after the allocations have been made. However, if after the Continued Interest process has concluded you are still not happy with your allocation, and you feel have sufficient grounds, you may choose to appeal to the Independent Appeals Panel.  Information on how to complete this process can again be found on the Hertfordshire County Council website.