Admission rules
Admission rules for Hertfordshire community mixed-sex secondary schools
Mixed-sex schools are also known as 'co-educational'. Community schools are state-maintained, run by the local authority (Hertfordshire County Council, in this case). The schools receive funding from the local authority, follow the National Curriculum and are regularly inspected by Ofsted. The local authority employs the staff, owns the land and buildings, and decides on the admission criteria to apply if the school is oversubscribed. These schools all follow Hertfordshire County Council's admission rules, described below.
Secondary school admission rules for 2015 (for community schools and other schools/academies that follow the Council's rules)
Go through the rules below, in turn. The first rule that applies for your child is the rule you should put into the Admission Calculator. If the school is oversubscribed, the admission rules are applied in the order shown below, from 1 through to 7. Applicants qualifying under Rule 1 are allocated places first, then it's applicants under Rule 2, then Rule 3 etc. Some popular schools ‘run out’ of places by Rule 4, 5 or 6. For the final rule applied, if more children qualify for a place, than there are places available, a tiebreak is used (see individual rules for more information).
RULE 1: Looked after children.
This also includes children who used to be looked after, but were then adopted (or given a residence order or special guardianship order).
RULE 2: Medical or social needs.
A panel will determine whether there’s enough evidence to admit your child under this rule. You must provide supporting evidence from a doctor, psychologist or other professional involved with your child. You will need to show that only this one particular school can meet your child’s needs (make sure your letters of support name the school).
RULE 3: Sibling.
Children with a sibling at the school at the time of application (unless the sibling is in their final year). The sibling needs to be in Years 7 to 11 in a 11-16 secondary school, or Years 7 to 13 in a 11-18 school. A ‘sibling’ means a sister, brother, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, or child of the parent/carer or partner. The children must live in the same house from Monday to Friday.
RULE 4: You live in the priority area and this is your closest school or academy that’s mixed-sex, non-faith and non partially selective.
To find out which is your closest mixed-sex, non-faith and non partially selective school, call Hertfordshire County Council on 0300 123 4043. If you want to guess at this yourself, by using the maps on SchoolGuru, just ignore any single-sex, faith or partially selective schools/academies that are closer to your house – they're irrelevant under this Rule. Note: partially selective schools offer places based on ability.
Tiebreaker: distance to the school (closest applicants take priority)
Find out if you live in the school's priority area here
RULE 5: You live in the priority area and live nearest to the school.
If you live in the priority area, but don’t qualify under Rule 4, you’ll qualify under Rule 5. There will be another school/academy closer to your home that’s mixed-sex, non-faith and non partially selective.
Tiebreaker: distance to the school (closest applicants take priority)
RULE 6: You live outside the priority area and nearest to the school.
Tiebreaker: distance to the school (closest applicants take priority).
Please note: Any child with a statement of special educational needs, that names the school, will be offered a place (because that’s the law!).
School admissions:
Herts school appeals:
