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

All the schools are good but very oversubscribed. You have missed the boat for September so it will be a late application and a case of where there is space I am afraid. Are you living in the town yet?

@Kasey17 , I’d look carefully at Avanti before accepting a place there. It’s a newer school so less established.

Birchwood is mixed and Boys’ High - well, as per the name! So it depends on what your priorities are. Both are good schools but very different. From friends who have children at these schools, I get the impression Birchwood is more inclusive and Boys’ High is more structured. It would be worth visiting if at all possible.

For primaries, all the schools are good but there are nuances. Are there particular areas/schools you’re looking at?