The Priory School is an oversubscribed 11-18 co-educational school that serves its local community. Hertfordshire Local Authority manages the transfer and entry to The Priory School. For details of both regular and in-year admissions, please see the information below and follow the links.
For further information contact Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) Children’s Services on 0300 123 4043.
Applicants for a September 2024 Start
There is a range of options for prospective new families to see inside the school in preparation for their application for the September 2024 school year:
- 360 degree tour – You can move through the school virtually on our 360 tour: https://www.priory.herts.sch.uk/360.
- Online School Prospectus – You can see more about school life at TPS using our online prospectus: https://prospectus.priory.herts.sch.uk/. On this site you can see short video clips and read information about how the school runs. From Friday 8th September you will be able to book school tours and Open Evening sessions here.
- Virtual Open Evening 2023 – This will be held on Thursday 5th October in four sessions running from 5.30pm to 8.30pm. These will be in the form of a live Google Meet with two of our students who will take you through their experiences of life at TPS, show you some video footage and photographs, and take your questions. These sessions will last approximately 40 minutes. Sign-up for these events begins on Friday 8th September. Please follow this link to access the booking site for our virtual Open Evening: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/711232434357?aff=oddtdtcreator
- Live Tours 2023 – Families are also invited to attend a live tour of the school. Students will conduct hour-long tours to visit classrooms and show you the school facilities. These tours run from Tuesday 10th October to Wednesday 18th October from 9am to 11am each day. Parents are encouraged to bring their Year 6 children to have a look around and there will be an opportunity to meet some key staff to ask questions. We believe this will give you the best reflection of what school life is like here. Sign-up for these tours will also be available from Friday 8th September. Please follow this link to access the booking site for our Open Morning Tours: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/priory-school-tours-for-year-6-tickets-715885461687
Families applying for a 2024 school place should note that applications close on 31st October 2023. Applications can be made through the County website here: http://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions.
Families are strongly advised not to only put one school on their application form in the hope this might improve their chances of getting in to the school they elect. This is NOT the case and without a second choice made, your child would be at the mercy of the luck of the draw and be given a place wherever there is room.
For further information from TPS about applying here, please contact Fiona Cochrane: fcochrane@priory.herts.sch.uk.
Secondary Transfers for September 2024
The school participates in the Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) co-ordinated scheme for admissions. All deadlines within this scheme must be adhered to by applicants. HCC will make offers of places on behalf of the school.
Further information is available at http://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions, including the rules for admission. On-time applications close on Monday 31st October 2023.
Secondary allocation day is Wednesday 1st March 2024. If you applied online you will receive an email from HCC on this date. If you applied on paper then you will receive a letter in the post.
Accepting your place: if you are allocated The Priory School and wish to accept your place then you must do this either online or on the paper form provided by Wednesday 15th March 2024. Responses go directly to HCC and do not come back to the school. Continued interest: if you are not allocated The Priory School and it was ranked higher than the school you have been allocated then you will automatically be added to the continued interest list.
If you do not want to stay on this list then you must let the HCC Children’s Services team know immediately.
In Year Admissions
All local authorities have a statutory duty to coordinate all in year admissions (primary and secondary) for all maintained schools and academies. This means that all applications for, and allocations of, in year places must be made via a child’s home local authority. All parents living in Hertfordshire who wish to make an in year application must apply online to HCC at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions and not by applying direct to schools. A paper application form can be requested from the Children Schools and Families Customer Service Centre, 0300 123 4043.
Appeals
At transfer time, parents wishing to appeal who applied online should log into their online application and click on the link ‘register an appeal’. For those who did not apply online, please contact the Children Schools and Families Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 to request an appeal pack.
Further information on the appeals process is available at:
The Determined Admission Arrangements for 2022-2023 were reviewed and approved by the Governing Board. Any person or body who considers that any maintained school or academy’s arrangements are unlawful, or not in compliance with the Code or relevant law relating to admissions, can make an objection to the Schools Adjudicator. Any objector must provide their name and address to the Adjudicator when an objection is made.
Sixth Form Admissions
The date of our Sixth Form Open Evening for students wishing to join us in September 2024 is to be confirmed. For more information please visit the online Hitchin Consortium prospectus: https://sites.google.com/hgs.herts.sch.uk/hitchin-consortium/home/hitchin-consortium-prospectus-2022-2024.
The Priory School Admissions Policy
Admissions Arrangements 2023-2024