What can you do after you've been offered a primary school place?

You have the following options:

Accept or reject your offer

Make a continuing interest application (waiting list)

Go to appeal

Consider which schools have vacancies

See application and allocation reports

Accept or reject the offer

You can no longer accept or reject an offer online.

If you still need to respond to any previous offer, print the allocation response form and return it to:

Transfer Admissions
County Hall
Pegs Lane
Hertford
SG13 8DQ

or email it to the admissions team.

We recommend that you accept your offer – even if it's not your highest preference. This will ensure your child has a school place for September.

If you reject the place offered, you must tell us what alternative education provision you'll be making for your child.

This won't affect your chances of getting one of your higher preference schools, either on the continuing interest list (waiting list) for a particular school, or through a school place appeal.

If you don't accept or reject the school place, we may offer your place to another child. You will then be offered a place at the nearest school that still has places available.

Opting out

If you're happy with the school you've been allocated and you don't want to pursue a place at any higher preference school, you must opt out of continuing interest, otherwise you risk losing your existing school place.

To opt out, email the admissions team with your child’s name and the schools you wish to opt out for.

If you're satisfied with your offer but you don't opt out of continuing interest, and you are offered a place at a higher preference school, your existing place will automatically be offered to another child.

Continuing interest – re-allocating school places

The continuing interest process is how we re-allocate school places that have been rejected. We do this in 2 countywide "runs".

You can have up to 4 preferences at continuing interest, including academies, community, voluntary aided and foundation schools, either in or outside Hertfordshire.

Your continuing interest preferences will overwrite your initial preferences, so you must include any of your initial schools that you still wish to be considered for.

If you are not initially offered your highest preference school, you are automatically added to the continuing interest list (waiting list) for any higher preference schools in Hertfordshire.

For schools outside of Hertfordshire, you must check with them direct whether you've been automatically added to their continuing list.

If a place becomes available and your child is first on the continuing interest list, the place will be automatically allocated to you – we'll let you know by email or letter (we can't tell you over the phone). Your previous offer will be withdrawn. We won't write to you if you've been unsuccessful.

If you are unsuccessful, you'll be able to check your child’s position on continuing interest lists for community and voluntary controlled schools and academies whose arrangements are administered by us when you log in to the admissions system.

Academies, voluntary aided and foundation schools

Most of these schools create their own continuing interest list of children who included them in their school preferences, but did not get a place.

Contact schools direct for further details of their continuing interest process. Find school contact details

These schools make their own decisions at continuing interest, but we offer continuing interest places on their behalf.

If you'd like to apply for a place at an academy, voluntary aided or foundation school that you didn't initially rank, you need to make a new application.

Continuing interest lists

Continuing interest lists (waiting lists) for schools are closing. That means no child will be considered for their preferred school after the lists close.

You can make a new in year application to retain your interest for up to 4 schools when the system opens.

Primary schools

List closes 24 July 2017
Make a new in year application from 25 July 2017.

Junior and middle schools

List closes 30 June 2017
Make a new in year application from 1 July 2017.

We aim to let you know the outcome of your application within 10 working days after we receive your completed form and necessary paperwork, including:

proof of address (dated within the last 3 months)
proof of arrival into the country (if applicable).

We need agreement from some schools that are their own admitting authority (such as an academy) before we can allocate a place. As such, there could be a delay over the summer when schools are closed.

First run of continuing interest

15 – 19 May 2017 – the first continuing interest run takes place.

Submit your changes by 25 April 2017 to be included in this first run.

If you change your application...

If you make a new application, it will overwrite your existing application.

Make sure you include any schools from your original application that you still wish to be considered for.

Most schools will only consider existing applications at the first continuing interest run (the preferences you made on your initial application). For example, if you were offered your 3rd preference school, you'll be considered for any places available at your 1st and 2nd preference schools.

However, the following Hertfordshire schools will also accept new applications at the first run of continuing interest:

Hertfordshire schools accepting new applications at the first run of continuing interest

You can add any of these schools to your list of preferences when you log in.


Town	School	Phase
Albury	Albury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School	Primary
Baldock	St John's Catholic Primary and Nursery School	Primary
Barkway	Barkway C of E (VA) First School	First
Bishop's Stortford	St Joseph's Catholic Primary School	Primary
Elstree	St Nicholas Elstree C of E VA Primary School	Primary
Great Amwell	St John The Baptist VA C of E Primary School	Primary
Great Gaddesden	Great Gaddesden C of E Primary School	Primary
Hertford	St Joseph's Catholic Primary School	Primary
North Mymms	St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School	Primary
Offley	Offley Endowed Primary School	Primary
Puckeridge	St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School	Primary
South Mymms	St Giles' C of E Primary School	Primary
St Albans	St Adrian's RC Primary School & Nursery	Primary
St Albans	St John Fisher Catholic Primary School	Primary
Stevenage	St Nicholas C of E Primary School & Nursery	Primary
Ware	Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School	Primary
Wiggington	St Bartholomew's C of E VA Primary School	Primary

At the first run of continuing interest, you can also apply for additional places made available at the following schools:

Town	School	Number of new places	Total intake
Hatfield	Birchwood Avenue Primary School	30	60
Hatfield	De Havilland Primary School	30	90

We'll contact you with your new offer of a school place, if you're successful at this stage.

If you're unsuccessful after the first continuing interest run, you can log in to the admissions system to check your child’s position on continuing interest lists on Monday 22 May. We can’t give you this information over the phone.

Second (and final) run of continuing interest

19 – 23 June 2017 – the second continuing interest run.

All Hertfordshire schools will accept new applications at this stage.

Make any changes between 22–26 May 2017 to be included in this second run.

If you change your application...

If you make a new application, it will overwrite your existing application.

Make sure you include any schools from your original application that you still wish to be considered for.

We'll contact you with your new offer of a school place, if you're successful at this stage.

If you're unsuccessful after the second continuing interest run, you can log in to the admissions system to check your child’s position on continuing interest lists on Monday 26 June. We can’t give you this information over the phone.

After the second continuing interest run

After the second run of continuing interest, places will be allocated as and when vacancies occur until the end of the summer term (we'll confirm the exact date nearer the time).

You can continue to check your child's position on the continuing interest list. This information will be updated weekly until 25 July 2017.

If you haven't been successful at continuing interest and you still want your child to be considered for a place after the end of the summer term, you'll need to make an in year application at that time.

Changing your address for continuing interest

To change your address for continuing interest, provide us with proof of address by:

25 April 2017 (first run of continuing interest)
26 May 2017 (second run of continuing interest).

Suitable proof of address is:

a letter from your solicitor confirming your completion date took place before the relevant date above, or
a signed rental agreement of at least 12 months showing the start of your tenancy on or before the relevant date above.

And you must give us proof that you and your child live permanently at the new address and you no longer have any ties to a previous address.

You can email the admissions team with your proof of address.

Rule 2 – exceptional medical and social reasons

We'll only consider applications under rule 2 (medical or social reasons) when you first apply for a school.

However, if your child's medical or social circumstances have changed a lot since your original application, you can apply under rule 2 at the continuing interest stage.

You'll need to tell us the change in circumstances and include relevant professional evidence.

To be considered for continuing interest, you need to provide us with your evidence by:

25 April 2017 (for the first run of continuing interest)
26 May 2017 (for the second run of continuing interest)

You can attach evidence to your online application or email the admissions team.

Application and allocation reports

Check how places were allocated at each of the schools or academies you applied for (where we administer their arrangements). 2 types of report are available:

Application and allocation statistic reports – these summarise the applications and allocations made to Hertfordshire schools. The data includes on-time and late applications for children living in and outside of Hertfordshire (2017-18 process).

Allocation summary reports – these show how each school's rules were applied and how many allocations were made under each rule. The report only contains information about schools and academies whose arrangements are administered by us.

Out of county schools and Hertfordshire voluntary aided, foundation schools and academies that administer their own arrangements will be able to provide you with similar allocation information. Contact the school direct.