Harpenden secondary catchment

[Cirrus123]

Hi All
Just joined mumsnet (as a dad...hope thats ok) so here goes with my first thread!
Thanks for replies in advance.

We are moving into area from Bucks. Looking to buy house at some point but in meantime will rent. My son will be starting secondary school in September 2017 so trying to rent in close proximity to either Sir John Lawes or Roundwood.

Is it true that Roundwood catchment is larger than Sir John Lawes?

Looking at a couple of properties at the moment....one is 270m from SJL and another is 550m from Roundwood. My question is which is better option to get into one of the schools. Also in a couple of years my DD will be going to secondary.

Does the sibling rule only still apply if you still live in catchment? What if we buy a house in 18 months outside of,say the smaller Sir John Lawes catchment...what happens then. If Roundwood catchment larger then are we better off trying to get my DS into that school so if we buy elsewhere in Harpenden in future then more likely to still be in catchment so that both kids go to same school.

Apologies if that's a bit long winded. Quite confused currently!!

Thanks for your help.

Cirrus123

I don't know about exact catchment areas, you should be able to look them up through Herts County Council. Schools also publish admission criteria on their websites. Phone the council re. sibling rule and moving out of catchment.

We went house hunting with this, definitely worth the money. Be careful, though, to check each address from scratch. It sometimes remembered other addresses for me, so double check!

You need to be quick, the application deadline is the 31st of October!

Thanks SaintAlban

Yes looks like a good website with useful information. Will have a further look. And yes time is running out! Looking to move asap but just want to move to right location.

Thanks

Google the Harpenden Parents Group they maybe be able to help you. Southdown isn't great for secondary schools but the other two should be better. They ar building a new school which is ready in 2018 at the very earliest....

If you move later you will still be fine for siblings.

If you look on the Herts Direct website, there's a table showing you the furthest living away person offered a place. Or there certainly is for primary anyway. Sorry I haven't time to dig out the link - school run beckons.

Thanks for all your advice. Much appreciated. I think we will go for a rental close to SJL for now.

Cheers.