Moving to Hertford

[yummyscummymummy01]

I'm currently in north London and, due to the house prices, am beginning to look into Hertfordshire for our next move. We have primary school age children but will need to think about secondary schools soon.

What's it like to live there and what are the schools like? There seem to be two secondary schools with very different OFSTED ratings which is a bit concerning.

Is there anywhere you would recommend instead?

Shameless bump!

Children in Hertford go to 4 schools
Simon Balle all through school - mixed
Sele school- mixed
Richard Hale - boys only
Predates ( Ware) - girls only.
A few in the East of the town go to Chauncy in town.

Provision in Hertford is really good but you need to check the admissions rules and distance criteria if you have a string preference

DM if you need any more info

I love Hertford. It’s pretty, the shops are bringing to get better, lots of lovely countryside around, it’s easy to get into London or Cambridge from and it’s a good night out. Schools are all pretty good. I can personally recommend Simon Ballle-can’t say enough good things about it.
House prices are quite high however.
Ware is close by and also lovely.

Thanks this is so helpful!
The Sele school is in special measures, but I know schools can change. What have you heard about if?
Also what are the different areas like in Hertford? There seem to be four main parts is that right?
I haven't looked at Ware as much but will definitely take a look.

It depends what you want to know really. Where are you looking exactly? I cant think of 4 areas - Bengeo, Hertford East, Sele maybe?
Sele school has always been the lowest performer of the lot and it's catchment area contains a high percentage of social housing. It sometimes gets better but is never the preferred school in Hertford.
In general, Hertford is a whole lot nicer than North London which is why there are so many people moving from there. Housing, community, environment and lifestyle are all good in Hertford.
If you can narrow down what you want to know, I can give you my opinion. Or a DM if you need specific advice.

Lived in Hertford for last twenty years , a girl in year 9 at Presdales , and a boy in year 7 at Richard Hale - what did you want to know ? Happy to help !

Pros -
2 direct train stations to central London
Big green areas and rivers
Good community
Coffee shop culture
Big choice of pubs/restaurants and plenty of places to go in the evening
Lots of independent shops
New theatre/cinema
New leisure centre
New shopping area
Historic buildings and pretty town centre
Nice pavement cafe vibe in the summer
Lots of clubs/ activities for children
Community events such as Christmas markets, Cars at the Castle, music festivals etc
Tesco, Sainsburys, Aldi and Marks Spencers foodstore in town
Feels like a comfortable size for a community feel

Cons -
Massive traffic issues everywhere and bottlenecks at rush hour. Dont underestimate this.
Expensive housing
Lots of charity shops, beauty bars and Turkish barbers
No chain stores really apart from a Boots but Welwyn and the Brookfield centre are 20 minutes drive

Hope that helps

I agree with the poster above

The single sex schools have good rep but personally I'd prefer SB as mixed.

The traffic however BAD !!!!!
This is even at the weekend

Shops are limited but plenty of other towns to use. Harlow Stevo WGC. Train to London

The town centre is the heart of nightlife for all the under 30s in the local area. They travel in from WGC ware Harlow Stevo so it can get extremely busy and noisy. I'd avoid the town centre location if you want a peaceful time. Lots of pissed up youngsters walking home otherwise.

The Thai restaurant in the main square is AMAZING

Theatre isn't bad and just been re done.

🤣 The place is definitely buzzing at night with lots of people about. Personally I like that as I can walk home at night and there are always plenty of others around so I feel safer ( I'm not under 30 but there are plenty of older people out and about too)

This is helpful! Thanks so much.
Not too bothered about shops as I'll be commuting from London.
Last question! House prices are really hard to judge as I don't live there. In a nice part of Hertford what would be a reasonable range for a 3 or 4 bedroom house?

Anything from £475k ( small modern estate house on Foxholes estate) to £1.4 million according to Right Move fir a 3 or 4 bed. There are cheaper ones but they are clustered around Sele School. They are not horrible places to live at all but the school is not the best one.

You might need to consider walking distance from train stations too as parking near them is difficult. Hertford North line goes through Finsbury Park to Moorgate with stops in between. Hertford East goes to Stratford on some trains but mostly Liverpool Street through Tottenham Hale for changes.

Here's a recent look around Hertford

Thanks this is all really helpful!