Schools in Harpenden
Harpenden is a prosperous Hertfordshire town with 20 state schools - 13 primaries and 4 secondaries. Hertfordshire County Council co-ordinates admissions using its 'home school' system: each address is linked to a designated catchment school, and families living in-catchment receive strong priority. Harpenden primaries are generally oversubscribed; catchment boundaries can be tight, and some streets fall into unexpected catchments due to historical boundary decisions.
Secondary schools in Harpenden include Roundwood Park School, Sir John Lawes School, St George's School (a Church of England voluntary aided school), and Katherine Warington School. Hertfordshire operates a linked feeder system for some schools, so which primary your child attends can influence secondary options. Families should check their home address on Hertfordshire's online school finder each year, as catchment boundaries are reviewed periodically.
School demand in Harpenden
Across the 16 schools in Harpenden with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 97%. 6 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.
4 schools in Harpenden have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
6 of the schools in Harpenden are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Hertfordshire, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
9 of the schools in Harpenden have a current Ofsted rating, of which 9 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Harpenden: 4 oversubscribed (13)
Sauncey Wood Primary School
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 5HL
Manland Primary School
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 4QW
Roundwood Primary School
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 3AD
The Grove Junior School
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 1QB
The Grove Infant and Nursery School
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 1QD
The Lea Primary School and Nursery
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 4LE
High Beeches Primary School
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 5SD
Wood End School
Primary · Community school
Harpenden · AL5 3EF
St Nicholas CofE VA Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Harpenden · AL5 2TP
Crabtree Infants' School
Primary · Academy converter
Harpenden · AL5 5PU
Crabtree Junior School
Primary · Academy converter
Harpenden · AL5 5PU
Harpenden Academy
Primary · Free schools
Harpenden · AL5 4EL
St Dominic Catholic Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
HARPENDEN · AL5 1PF
Secondary Schools in Harpenden (4)
Roundwood Park School
Secondary · Academy converter
Harpenden · AL5 3AE
Sir John Lawes School
Secondary · Academy converter
Harpenden · AL5 4QP
St George's School
Secondary · Academy converter
Harpenden · AL5 4TD
Katherine Warington School
Secondary · Free schools
Harpenden · AL5 5FH
Other Schools in Harpenden (3)
Batford Nursery School
Nursery · Local authority nursery school
Harpenden · AL5 5BQ
St Hilda's School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Harpenden · AL5 2ES
The King's School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Harpenden · AL5 4DU
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Harpenden are set by Hertfordshire and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.