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

School place allocations were released on 16 April 2024.

We will have emailed you the school you’ve been allocated, if you confirmed your email address.

You can also log in to the admissions system to check.

Don’t call – we can’t give allocation information over the phone.

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

View application and allocation reports

Check which schools handle their own admissions

Contact these schools direct if you have a query about allocations or continuing interest

Accept or reject the offer

1 May - is the dealine to accept or reject your offer.

If you miss the deadline to respond to your offer online, email your response with your child’s full name and date of birth to transfer.admissions@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

Alternatively, complete and return the allocation response form (PDF, 20KB).

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.

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 reject the place offered, you must tell us what alternative education provision you'll be making for your child. You can provide this information when rejecting the place online or by returning the response form. If the school you reject has children on the continuing interest list, the school place will be automatically withdrawn.

If you don't respond and don't reply to the reminders sent, the place offered to your child may be withdrawn and offered to another child.

Opt out of continuing interest 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 through the continuing interest process.

If you live outside Hertfordshire and have been offered a Hertfordshire school place, you can respond to your offer by emailing transfer.admissions@hertfordshire.gov.uk or by returning the allocation response form (PDF, 20KB).

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 schools you initially applied to that you still wish to be considered for.

Schools whose allocations are administered by us

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 example, if you were offered your 3rd preference school, you will be considered for any places available at your 1st and 2nd preference schools.

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

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.

View the schools [PDF 120Kb] you need to contact direct about their allocation and continuing interest process.

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.

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 by 1 May 2024,otherwise you risk losing your existing school place.

Opt out of continuing interest

If you are 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.

First run of continuing interest

Submit any changes to your preferences by 23 April 2024 to be included in this first run.

13–17 May 2024 – the first continuing interest run takes place.

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

Under 11s - What can you do now?
Town	School
Abbots Langley	Divine Saviour Catholic Primary
Albury	Albury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School (Bishop's Stortford)
Baldock	St John's Catholic Primary and Nursery School
Barkway	Barkway (VA) C of E First School
Barley	Barley C of E (VA) First
Berkhamsted	St Thomas More Catholic Primary
Berkhamsted	The Thomas Coram Church of England School
Berkhamsted	Victoria C of E Infant & Nursery School
Bishops Stortford	St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Cheshunt	St Paul's Catholic Primary School
Datchworth	All Saints C of E (VA) Primary School
Elstree	St Nicholas Elstree C of E VA Primary School
Great Amwell	St John The Baptist VA C of E Primary School
Great Hormead	Hormead C of E First School
Harpenden	St Nicholas C of E VA Primary
Hemel Hempstead	St Rose's Catholic Infants' School and Nursery
Hertford	St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
High Cross	Puller Memorial C of E Voluntary Aided Primary School
Hitchin	Our Lady Catholic Primary
Langleybury	St Paul's C of E VA Primary & Nursery School (Hunton Bridge)
London Colney	St Bernadette RC Nursery and Primary School
Long Marston	Long Marston Voluntary Aided C of E Primary School
Northaw	Northaw C of E Primary School
Park Street	Park Street C of E Primary School and Nursery
Puckeridge	St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
Radlett	Hertsmere Jewish Primary School
Rickmansworth	St John's Catholic Primary (Mill End)
Rickmansworth	St Mary's Church of England (VA) Primary School
Rickmansworth	St Peter's C of E VA Primary School
Royston	St Mary's Catholic Primary
Shenley	Clore Shalom School
St Albans	St John Fisher Catholic Primary School
St Albans	The Abbey C of E Voluntary Aided Primary School
Stevenage	Ardeley St Lawrence C of E VA Primary School
Stevenage	St Margaret Clitherow Roman Catholic Primary School
Stevenage	St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School
The Gaddesdens	Great Gaddesden C of E Primary School
Ware	Christ Church (C of E) VA Primary & Nursery
Watford	Holy Rood Catholic Primary School
Watford	St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School
Watford	St John’s Church of England Primary School
Welwyn	St John's CE VA Primary (Digswell)
Welwyn Garden City	Holy Family RC Primary School
Wigginton	St Bartholomew's C of E VA Primary School
Woolmer Green	St. Michael's Woolmer Green C of E Primary School

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 automatically withdrawn. We won't write to you if you've been unsuccessful.

If you are 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 after 20 May 2024. We can’t give you this information over the phone.

Second (and final) run of continuing interest

20–24 May 2024 – submit changes to your preferences to be included in this second run.

17–21 June 2024 – the second continuing interest run takes place.

All Hertfordshire schools will accept new applications at this stage.

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 24 June 2024. 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. We'll regularly update this information until continuing interest lists close at the end of the summer term.

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:

24 April 2024 (first run of continuing interest)
28 May 2024 (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. If it's not possible to provide a 12 month tenancy agreement because of the nature of the agreement, we'll request alternative proof of address and verify it with the Shared Anti-Fraud Service, as necessary.

You must also provide proof that you and your child live permanently at the new address and you no longer have any residential 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:

24 April 2024 (for the first run of continuing interest)
28 May 2024 (for the second run of continuing interest)

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

Appealing a decision

You have the right to appeal for a place at any of the schools listed on your primary transfer application form, if your child was not offered a place.

If you appeal for a lower preference Hertfordshire school than the school you have been allocated, you will not have been automatically registered on the continuing interest list for that school. This must be done separately. Please refer to the 'continuing interest' section above for further details.

If you wish to appeal for a school outside Hertfordshire, contact the school or local authority where the school is located for more details.

Appeals are heard by independent panels made up of people who have no connection with the original decision.

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.

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.

If you have problems accessing any documents on this page or require them in a different format, please email admissions.central@herfordshire.gov.uk

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.