Priority areas – secondary and upper schools

If you live within a school's priority area, you will be considered for a place at that school before children who live outside the priority area.

Find your nearest school and priority area

Priority areas are determined by administrative parishes. Your parish will also be identified on your council tax bill.

How priority areas are used
List of secondary school priority areas

How priority areas are used

Priority areas are used by schools that use our admission rules. Some foundation schools and academies also use our rules and priority areas to prioritise applications.

Your child is not guaranteed a place at a school in your priority area but they will be considered before children living outside the priority area.

Within each priority area, children who apply to their nearest school will be considered under Rule 4. "Nearest school" in this context means their nearest Hertfordshire maintained school or academy which is:

non-faith
co-educational (accepts boys and girls)
non-partially selective (doesn't offer places based on academic ability).

List of secondary school priority areas

Priority area	Villages, towns and parishes	Secondary schools
1. Hitchin	Hexton, Hitchin, Holwell, Ickleford, Langley, Lilley, Offley, Pirton, Preston, St Ippolyts, Wymondley.	The Priory
2. Letchworth Garden City	Letchworth	Fearnhill Highfield
3. Baldock and surrounding villages	Ashwell, Baldock, Bygrave, Caldecote, Clothall, Edworth, Hinxworth, Newnham, Radwell, Rushden, Sandon, Wallington, Weston.	The Knights Templar
4. Buntingford, Puckeridge and Royston	Anstey, Ardeley, Aspenden, Barkway, Barley, Braughing, Brent Pelham, Buckland, Buntingford, Cottered, Great Munden, Hormead, Kelshall, Meesden, Nuthampstead, Reed, Royston, Standon, Therﬁeld, Westmill, Wyddial.
5. Stevenage	Aston, Benington, Datchworth, Graveley, Great Ashby, Knebworth, Stevenage, Walkern.	The Barclay Barnwell Marriotts The Nobel The Thomas Alleyne
6. Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley, Berkhamsted, Tring, Garston, Watford, Chorleywood and Rickmansworth	Abbots Langley, Aldbury, Berkhamsted, Bovingdon, Chipperfield, Chorleywood, Croxley Green, Flaunden, Great Gaddesden, Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley, Little Gaddesden, Nash Mills, Nettleden with Potten End, Northchurch, Rickmansworth (part) / Maple Cross, Sarratt, Tring, Tring Rural, Watford, Wigginton.	The Astley Cooper Laureate Academy The Hemel Hempstead Kings Langley Longdean Westfield Academy
7. Harpenden and St Albans	Ayot St Lawrence, Colney Heath, Flamstead, Harpenden, Harpenden Rural, Kimpton, King’s Walden, London Colney, Markyate, Redbourn, Ridge, Sandridge, St Michael, St Pauls Walden, St Stephen, St Albans, Shenley, Wheathampstead.	Beaumont Katherine Warington School Roundwood Park Samuel Ryder Academy Sir John Lawes
8. Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Potters Bar and Brookmans Park	Ayot St Peter, Codicote, Essendon, Hatfield, North Mymms, Potters Bar, South Mimms, Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn, Woolmer Green.	Monks Walk Onslow St Audreys Ridgeway Academy Stanborough
9. Ware and Hertford	Bayford, Bengeo Rural, Bramfield, Brickendon Liberty, Great Amwell, Hertford, Hertford Heath, Hertingfordbury, Hunsdon, Little Berkhamsted, Little Munden, Sacombe, Stanstead St Margarets, Stapleford, Tewin, Thundridge, Ware, Wareside, Watton-at-Stone, Widford.	Simon Balle
10. Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgeworth	Albury, Birchanger, Bishop’s Stortford, Eastwick, Elsenham, Furneux Pelham, Gilston, Great Hallingbury, High Wych, Little Hadham, Little Hallingbury, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Sheering, Stocking Pelham, Thorley.
11. Borehamwood, Bushey and Watford Rural	Aldenham, Bushey, Elstree, Borehamwood, Watford Rural.
12. Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Turnford and Cheshunt	Broxbourne, Cheshunt, Hoddesdon, Nazeing, Northaw & Cuffley, Stanstead Abbotts, Waltham Cross.	Robert Barclay Haileybury Turnford

Find a school's admission rules

Map of priority areas

(press map to enlarge)

Single sex schools – priority areas

There are 7 single sex schools in Hertfordshire. All are academies and are responsible for their own admissions, although we allocate places on their behalf.

All use single sex priority areas and most will use parish proportionality (rules based on the size of the parish).

Single sex girls' schools – priority areas


Girls' school	Villages, towns and parishes
Hitchin Girls' School	Codicote, Graveley, Hexton, Hitchin, Holwell, Ickleford, King’s Walden, Knebworth, Langley, Letchworth, Lilley, Offley, Pirton, Preston, St Ippolyts, St Pauls Walden, Weston, Wymondley.
St Albans Girls' School	Aldenham, Colney Heath, Harpenden, Kimpton, London Colney, Redbourn, Sandridge, Shenley, St Albans, St Michael, St Stephen, Wheathampstead.
Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School	Codicote, Hatfield, Knebworth, North Mymms, Potters Bar, Welwyn, Welwyn Garden City, Woolmer Green.
Presdales School	Aspenden, Bayford, Bengeo Rural, Bramfield, Brickendon Liberty, Datchworth, Essendon, Great Amwell, Great Munden, Hertford, Hertford Heath, Hertingfordbury, Hunsdon, Little Berkhamsted, Little Munden, Much Hadham, Sacombe, Stanstead Abbotts, Stanstead St Margarets, Stapleford, Tewin, Thundridge, Ware, Wareside, Watton-at-Stone, Widford.

Find a school's admission rules

Single sex boys' schools – priority areas


Boys' school	Villages, towns and parishes
Hitchin Boys' School	Codicote, Graveley, Hexton, Hitchin, Holwell, Ickleford, King’s Walden, Knebworth, Langley, Letchworth, Lilley, Offley, Pirton, Preston, St Ippolyts, St Pauls Walden, Weston, Wymondley.
Verulam School	Aldenham, Colney Heath, Harpenden, Kimpton, London Colney, Redbourn, Sandridge, Shenley, St. Albans, St Michael, St Stephen, Wheathampstead.
Richard Hale School	Bayford, Bengeo Rural, Bramfield, Brickendon Liberty, Datchworth, Essendon, Great Amwell, Great Munden, Hertford, Hertford Heath, Hertingfordbury, Hunsdon, Little Berkhamsted, Little Munden, Sacombe, Stanstead Abbotts, Stanstead St Margarets, Stapleford, Tewin, Thundridge, Ware, Wareside, Watton-at-Stone, Welwyn, Widford, Woolmer Green.

Find a school's admission rules

Parish proportionality rules in single sex schools

After a school offers places under higher admissions rules (for example, children looked after or siblings), they work out how many places are left to offer under the parish proportionality rules.

Each parish in a priority area is allocated a number of places. That number is worked out as follows:

We count the number of applicants living in each parish in the priority area. These are all on time applications and include children qualifying under higher rules.
The number of applications in each parish in the priority area is then divided by the total number of applications from the whole priority area.

Places are then allocated within each parish:

first to children where it is their nearest school
then on a random basis (if there are any places left). Every school preference is given an individual random number between 1 and 1 million. If a preference is for a single sex school, this number will be used for this random allocation.

Hitchin Boys' School and Hitchin Girls' School use slightly different rules to the above.

More about the single sex allocation process (PDF 224KB)

Find a school's admission rules

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Priority areas – secondary and upper schools

How priority areas are used

List of secondary school priority areas

Map of priority areas

Single sex schools – priority areas

Single sex girls' schools – priority areas

Single sex boys' schools – priority areas

Parish proportionality rules in single sex schools

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