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Hertfordshire County Council

You have the following options:

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

 

Accept or reject the offer

Accept or reject the offer

You can no longer accept or reject the place offered online and must now respond to your allocation in writing or via email.

You can download and complete a copy of the blank response form and return it to the Admissions & Transport Team.

OR

Email your response quoting your child’s name and date of birth.

 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.

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.

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

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 make sure you include any schools you initially applied to that you still wish to be considered for.

 

Schools whose allocations are administered by us

If you have not been 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 list.

Academies, voluntary aided and foundation schools

Most of these schools create their own continuing interest list of children who applied to them, but did not get a place.

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

View the schools (PDF 100KB) Opens new window you need to contact direct about their allocation and continuing interest process.

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 of continuing interest, otherwise you risk losing your existing school place.

The deadline for opting out online has now passed (15 March) so if you still wish to opt out, email transfer.admissions@hertfordshire.gov.uk with your child’s name, date of birth and the name of the school continuing interest list(s) you wish to opt out of.

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.

 

First run of continuing interest

8 March 2024 – deadline to have submitted any changes to your preferences to be included in the first run.

25–29 March 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 (i.e. preferences made on your initial application).

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

  • Hockerill Anglo-European College (boarding only) (Bishop’s Stortford)
  • John F Kennedy Catholic School (Hemel Hempstead)
  • Loreto (St Albans)
  • Mount Grace School (Potters Bar)
  • St George’s School (boarding only) (Harpenden)
  • St Mary’s Church of England High School (Cheshunt)
  • The Grange Academy (Bushey)
  • The John Warner School (Hoddesdon)
  • Townsend Church of England School (St Albans)

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

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 contact you if you've been unsuccessful.

After the first continuing interest run, you can check where you are on continuing interest lists by logging in to the admissions system after 29 March.

 

Second (and final) run of continuing interest

2 April – 12 April 2024 – deadline to have submitted any changes to your preferences to be included in the second run. All Hertfordshire schools accept new applications at this stage.

29 April – 3 May 2024 – the second continuing interest run takes place.

If you change your application...

Remember, any new application will overwrite your existing application.

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


Log in to the admissions system
to amend your preferences.

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

If you are unsuccessful, you can log in to the admissions system after 3 May 2024 to check your child's position on the continuing interest lists. 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.

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.

Continuing interest lists (waiting lists) for Reception and Year 7 places close on 23 July 2024.

To retain your continuing interest, you must make an in-year application from 24 July 2024 when the system reopens.

Changing your address for continuing interest

To change your address for continuing interest, you should have provided us with proof of address by:

  • 8 March 2024 (first run of continuing interest)

  • 12 April 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 transfer.admissions@hertfordshire.gov.uk 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 should have provided us with your evidence by:

  • 8 March 2024 (for the first run of continuing interest)

  • 12 April 2024 (for the second run of continuing interest)

You can attach evidence to your online application or email transfer.admissions@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

 

Go to appeal

Register an appeal for a Hertfordshire school by 4.00pm on 28 March 2024

You can appeal if your child is not offered a place at a secondary, upper, studio school or UTC that youapplied for.

Hertfordshire residents who applied online - log into your online application at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions and click on the link to "register an appeal".

Out of county residents and Hertfordshire residents who applied on paper - call the Customer Service Centre on 0300123 4043 to request your registration details, log into www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals and click on the link "log into the appeals system" to appeal.

If you wish to appeal for one of the schools listed below, please contact the school directly:

  • St Joan of Arc Catholic
  • The Grange Academy
  • Dame Alice Owen's School

To assist with your appeal, further information is available online at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals. This includes information about the statutory appeals process, including how panels make their decisions and how the outcome of your appeal will be communicated to you.

Appeals will be heard between 2 May and 17 June 2024 (excluding half-term). If you are appealing 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. You have the right to appeal for a place at any of the schools listed on your secondary transfer application form rf your child was not offered a place. If you wish to appeal for a school outside Hertfordshire, you should 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

  • Application Allocation Stats 24-25 (PDF, 1MB)
    Opening a new windo The Application and Allocation Stats reports 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 show how each school's rules were applied and how many allocations were made under each rule. The reports only contain information about schools and academies whose arrangements are administered by us.

If you have trouble accessing these documents, please email web.team@hertfordshire.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.

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