St Albans Vs Hitchin Vs Bishops Stortford Vs Welwyn Garden City

[Ranithequeen]

Dear All,

We are a family of 3(Currently living in London) with both of us in IT(Age:38), our daughter(Age:11) going to Secondary school this September 2023 and looking for a better place to buy a house and thinking Hertfordshire council is the one to live for the next 10 years to forever :-)

We are looking for the below things while considering the options,

1. Best secondary comprehensive state schools (so my daughter has continuity for the next 7-8 years of her studies)
2. Connectivity to London as we may have to go to London once/twice a week (Currently WFH and not sure how scenario's change in future)
3. Close to nature to feel relaxed & peaceful without not being far from the necessities like groceries, sports club etc
4. Cost of living and a friendly town with a feel of home (I guess people are nice everywhere!)

We did initial research and short listed St. Albans, Hitchin, Bishops Stortford, Welwyn garden city. I really would love to hear from people who lived ,are living, friends basically any information/individual perspectives in the above areas to suggest us make the right decision as this is one of the biggest decisions of life!

Looking forward to hear from you all and kindly comment with your pros/cons, preferred best choice in view of the above 4 points. Thanks a lot in advance.

Regards,
Rani

You will struggle to get a school place for September as schools are very oversubscribed in all of the towns.

Thank you and yes we kind of aware of that for this year but hoping that it will be solved for next year :-)

You are dependent on someone leaving to free up a place for your dd for Year 8. It's a risky move as all the places you listed are really popular, for example it's unlikely you would get a place for possibly several years at the top bishops Stortford state secondary schools even if you moved next door to 1 of them.

Ohh Really?? good to know this. My daughter will be moving to year 7. How are the places in general to live?

I’ve lived in both St Albans and Hitchin and Koch prefer the latter. We do occasionally visit St Albans and I enjoy a day out there, but for day to day, I find Hitchin to be far more chilled & friendly. That being said, there are far more secondary schools in St Albans to choose from.

I do not know where the Koch came from…what an unfortunate typo 😂 was meant to say “much”

Most secondary schools in the U.K. have filled their year 7 places for this Sept 2023. Are you looking to move this summer or after Sept 23? If after Sept 23 then you are dependent on someone leaving the school for you to gain a place.

Where has your DD been allocated a school place for this September? (assuming you are moving from within England/Wales, which may be wrong)

Sorry yes - you said London. So she must have a school place allocated?

Thank you HeavierThanHeaven for providing your input and it is valuable :-)
I was actually thinking that koch must be a place near by ;-)

FraterculaArctica, She has a school place allocated here in London but as I said we are planning to buy a house and move to hetfordshire council this summer.

Hence seeking for the input about St Albans, Hitchin and Bishops Stortford

This is an unusually high birth rate year and most of the best Herts schools are even more oversubscribed than usual, in many school they have added bulge classes. (I have DC in Herts schools). So you will very likely have to put your DD into a less well regarded school. As you must know if you've just been through the secondary allocation cycle, you need to move by at latest the October of year 6 to maximize your chances of getting a place at the school you want. There are great schools in all these towns but you have to be realistic about your chances.

https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/schools-and-education/school-admissions/in-year-admissions-change-schools-during-the-year/school-vacancies/school-vacancies-year-7-to-year-11.aspx

I know Hitchin, WFC and St Albans very well. All lovely towns with lots to do. I think you'll struggle with school places although if you were considering private both St A and Hitchin are served well in that regard. If I had to choose it would probably be Hitchin. I live in the next town along but love it there.

Herts have a very handy tool whereby you can see the current vacancies in each year in their schools -

School vacancies – Year 7 to Year 11 | Hertfordshire County Council

I know we are looking at next year's Year 7 not the current one, but it is useful to show likely demand, and to show you that your options are likely to be very limited as most Herts schools are full for the current Year 7 (and other years, showing consistent demand)

For example, in Hitchin, all 3 secondaries are completely full; in St Albans the only year 7 places are in Verulam.

Places for this Sept intake have already been allocated. You would be offered a place somewhere, but it may not be in a school of your choice. You can of course go on waiting lists for other schools you would like.

Ah sorry to repeat link!

I would avoid WGC. There is a fantastic girls school in Hatfield which many WGC girls go to but it’s oversubscribed, there will already be a long waiting list as many don’t get a place.
WGC is a nice town (but a bit dull), has good primary schools but it’s secondary schools really let it down.

I've lived in WGC, and know St Albans and Hitchin well. I now live near Hitchin, and love it. Great links to London, nice shops, a lovely vibe. I much prefer it to Welwyn Garden City. St Albans is beautiful, but I don't know what it's like to live there.

Yes, I wouldn't include WGC as the same bracket as the other three. But do check the link above re school places - Herts are very good at providing allocation and waitlist info.

Thank you very much!!! FraterculaArctica, User2346, TheFormidableMrsC and PatriciaHolm for sharing the useful link, information and opinion.

Have you considered Harpenden? Very good state schools and a quick commute into London.

St Albans is a lovely city. Quite big so lots of housing. Lots of great state schools / a lot of friends went to St Albans girls.

Good shops, restaurants and green spaces.

Hitchin is smaller and slightly more affordable housing wise ( only relatively!)Hitchin Girls very popular. Have a friend who's daughter who goes there and says it's great.

I would just echo that a lot of the schools are highly oversubscribed so do some research before choosing a catchment area.

Good luck and happy searching

@kenyaswhiterefrigerator yes, but the time to do your research and choose your catchment area is during year 4/5 - not late year 6.

I live in St Albans and have done for 23 years.
I love it here, the schools are great, there are commons and parks nearby, it's only 20 mins to London and you can even go to Luton and Gatwick airports on the same line.
It's cosmopolitan so there's a great mix of cultures and cuisines.
It is expensive though and the 'best' state schools have a small catchment area with house prices reflecting that. Having said that I don't think there are any bad ones although full disclosure I don't have an in depth knowledge as mine go to private school.
You would certainly get more for your money in Hitchin and WGC. I don't know anything about Bishops Stortford.

Big difference in house prices between your places. St Albans probably being the most expensive, then Hitchin. Don't forget to look into commuting and station car park costs if you're working in London.

I live in Stortford and have children in both of the town's single sex schools. The schools are extremely oversubscribed and I would suggest in you choose to move here, then move as close as possible to be in with a chance. There is always a bit of shuffling in yr 7 (my son has had 3 new classmates since the beginning of year 7 last september). However the new houses being built are on the extremities of the town and not near any of the well regarded schools so being that distance away you could be on a waiting list for years without getting a place hence you need to move as close as possible.

@FraterculaArctica I'm not the OP.

I do agree but I'm understanding the OP has not had the benefit of hindsight and is dealing with her current situation being what it is