School finder

My address:

Find my nearest schools:

  1. Enter your address above. Type in the first line of your address, followed by a comma, a space, and then your postcode. Eg 25 Home Road, AL1 2BC
  2. Click 'Add my house'. A marker for your house will be placed on the map.
  3. Zoom in on the map and drag the marker to the exact position of your house. If you drag the marker then the address field will change to two decimal numbers that represent the exact latitude and longitude of your house. Leave it in this format and it will be carried over to the Calculator page.

Primary schools - first, infant, middle and junior schools

1. First of all, let's check out schools near your house. The primary schools near your house are shown on the map. The schools are also listed underneath the map. Click the school in the list to open up a new window with all the information we have about that school, which usually includes contact details, website, school profile, Ofsted reports and exam results.

[2. Strike off any schools that don't fit the bill.

3. Now, it's time to work out if you are likely to get in to your chosen schools. The easiest way is to use the Admission Calculator. Once you've selected a school, its location will pop up on the map below the Calculator. If you then put in your address (eg, 25 Sadleir Road, St Albans, AL1 2BL), and click, a little blue place marker will appear with a house logo. You can drag it, if you need to, until it pinpoints your house. The Calculator will estimate the distance from your house to the school (as the crow flies), and a line will appear on the map, in red. The estimated distance will automatically appear in the Calculator.

4. We're now going to work out which rule you'll be considered under, if the school is oversubscribed. The rules will automatically appear under the map once you select a school using the Admission Calculator. Go through the rules, starting at 1, then 2, then 3 etc etc. Select the first rule that applies to your child. Put the rule number into the Admission Calculator. You could find that you're applying under a different rule for each of your schools. You can find out more about the types of school here.

5. Community and voluntary-controlled schools only. If you need to know the name of your closest community or voluntary-controlled school, to work out which rule you'll qualify under, call Herts CC on 0300 123 4043. Even if it seems obvious from the map, it's best to double check.

  • Top tip: while you're waiting for a response from Herts CC, use Rule 6 in the Admission Calculator - if you're interested in the school, that's your worst case scenario.

6. You now have everything you need for the Admission Calculator. Pop in the info, press 'calculate' and you will get a school report, showing whether you would have got a place.

7. Print out your results for future reference.

8. Repeat until you've got print-outs of all the schools you're interested in.

9. Enjoy an oat milk cappuccino as you compare your results. Plan to visit as many schools as you can, to help you make your final selection. Please, please include at least one 'safe' school in your preferences. Or you risk not getting any of them.. and that's not a nice place to be.

Narrowing your search down...

1. OK, so you can now see a selection of secondary schools near your house. The schools appear on the map with a letter in their marker. This corresponds to the letters in the list of schools below the map. Click the school name in the list to open another window containing information about the school, including contact details, website, school profile, Ofsted reports and exam results. Draw up a list of all the secondary schools that you are interested in within a suitable distance from your house.

2. Distance from schools. The distance given is a straight line distance, as used by the council to work out admissions. The distance shown here is to the nearest metre and its accuracy depends how accurately you have positioned your house on the map. The admission calculator works to the nearest centimetre, as does the council. Click the link to the admission calculator against a school to work out your chances of getting in that school.

3. We're now going to work out which rule you'll be considered under. When you use the Admission Calculator and select a school, the oversubscription rules (or criteria) will appear under the map. Work through them starting with Number 1, and select the first one that is relevant for your child. That's the rule you will need to put into the Admission Calculator. You could find that you're applying under a different rule for each of your schools. To find out more about the types of schools available, click here.

  • You may need to know the name of your closest Hertfordshire-maintained secondary school that's mixed-sex and non-faith. You may also need to know the name of your closest non-faith school that's mixed-sex or single-sex. If you're not sure, call Herts CC on 0300 123 4043.

  • You may need to know which parish you live in so that you can work out if you live in the priority area. Your parish may be obvious, as it's basically the town or area you live in. If you're not sure, look on your council tax bill, or call Herts CC on 0300 123 4043. Then find out if you live in the school's priority area, by using the nifty tool at the very bottom of the page when you use the Admission Calculator.

4. Press calculate... and out pops the information showing whether you would have got a place.
You can read the latest Ofsted report and their contact details and website address.

5. Print out your results for future reference.

6. Repeat the above until you've got print-outs of all the schools you're interested in.

7. Enjoy an oat cappuccino as you compare your results. Plan to visit as many schools as you can, to help you make your final selection. Please, please include at least one 'safe' school in your preferences. Or you might not get any of your preferences... and trust us, that's not good news.

To view schools by town:

Planning to move to Hertfordshire? Want to check out your local schools? Then our list of schools by town, will come in handy...

If you want to know the schools that everyone wants, check out the Herts Hot List for the top 10 most popular primary and secondary schools.

Quick question: I don't want my closest primary school. Is this a problem?

Read our advice in the Q&A section or ask your own question.

Tammy, Charlotte's mum - 'I followed the advice on this very easy-to-use site and got my kids into a great school. They would not have got into the 'local' school, so it saved me lots of time and effort. The data is much more accessible than anything available from our local authority and should be available to all parents nationwide.'

School admissions:
School finder
Primary schools Admission Calculator
Secondary schools Admission Calculator
Admission rules
Priority areas
Schools with vacancies
Important dates
Admission tips
Herts school appeals:
Appeals advice
School appeals guides