Frequently Asked Questions

For full details of our Admissions Arrangements refer to our Admissions Policy page

Please note these FAQs are intended as a guide only, and contain questions that cover a number of different admission scenarios (Secondary Transfer, In-year etc). Therefore, not all questions and answers may be relevant to the year of admission you are interested in.

For a definitive answer, please always check the Admission Policy and Determined Admission Arrangements for the correct year of admission.

Can I apply under more than one criteria?

Applicants are welcome to apply under one or more of our listed criteria, provided that they meet the requirements for each of the criteria.

If I rank Chancellor's as my second or third preference on the Local Authority Application Form, does that lessen my chances of getting into the school?

The ranking that you put on the Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) is not passed on to any individual school. We allocate places solely on our admissions criteria. However, be aware that you will only receive one offer via your Local Authority and preferences ranked lower than the school offered will automatically be withdrawn. It is therefore very important that you rank schools according to your true preference.

What are the selection criteria for admission, in order of priority?

Where we are oversubscribed, the following admissions criteria will apply:

Special Needs – children with an Education, Health & Care Plan will be offered places first. Remaining places will be offered using the following criteria:

CLA – Children looked after/previously looked after
Sibling
Children of Staff
Musical Aptitude – 21 places
Feeder School – (see below)
Distance

When is the Musical Aptitude Test?

The Musical Aptitude Test takes place in the Summer Term of Year 5, prior to application in the Autumn of Year 6. Usually the tests take place on two afternoons (one for the written test, one for performance) in June.

The Supplementary Information Form (SIF) required for the Musical Aptitude Test must be returned to the school by the deadlines in the Key Dates document.

There is more information about the Musical Aptitude Test on the Musical Aptitude Test page of our website.

What are the current feeder schools?

Brookmans Park	Ladbrooke	Pope Paul
Countess Anne	Little Heath	St. Giles, S. Mymms
Cuffley	Northaw	St. Mary's, N. Mymms
Cranborne	Oakmere	St. Philip Howard
De Havilland	Oak View	Wroxham
Essendon	Ponsbourne St. Mary's	Hatfield Free School

Are there 'feeder' schools whose pupils take priority?

Places are allocated on a percentage basis to 18 local feeder primary schools. The total number of places available to allocate to feeder schools is the number remaining after places have been allocated to SEN and all higher ranking criteria (looked after children, siblings, children of staff and musical aptitude .

Are any places allocated according to proximity to the school?

Any remaining places will be allocated by proximity to the School using the "shortest designated route" from each applicant's home to the nearest designated entrance of the School, using the Hertfordshire County Council system of measurement (see below).

How is the geographical/distance criterion measured, i.e. as the "crow flies" or shortest walking distance?

Hertfordshire County Council has changed its method of measuring home-school distance for admission allocation purposes. Hertfordshire County Council’s ‘straight line’ distance measurement system is used for all home to school distance measurements. Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system to two decimal places. The measurement is taken from the AddressBase Premium address point of your child’s house to the address point of the school. AddressBase Premium data is a nationally recognised method of identifying the location of schools and individual residences.

This is an objective method of measuring home-school distances when applying admission rules. It does not take into account the actual or expected route a child will travel.

Please refer to Hertfordshire Admissions for more information.

Do you carry out address checks on those applying under "proximity to the school" criteria?

The Governors take their duty to ensure that our admission rules are applied fairly, and that these comply with The Department for Education School Admissions Code, very seriously. All addresses are checked to ensure that applications are genuine and relate to the permanent address of the prospective student. These checks may include verification by the Local Authority and the current primary school. The Governors will withdraw places or offers of places if fraudulent, incorrect or misleading information is given

If you have proof of fraudulent, misleading or incorrect information having been given to the school please forward this to us to allow the school to investigate.

What is the situation if my eldest child is a current pupil but will have left the school by the time my younger child would be due to start?

It is no longer possible for applicants to apply under the sibling criteria if the eldest child will no longer be enrolled at the school at the date of the applicant's admission, i.e. is currently in Year 13, or the older sibling has already indicated that he/she will not be attending the school at the date of admission of the younger sibling. This is a directive within The Department for Education School Admissions Code which came into force on 1st February 2012 and affects all schools equally.

What opportunities are there to visit the school?

Please see our Open Evening/Morning page for more information:

Open Mornings and Open Evening

When and how can I apply?

You must complete your own Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) to your own Local Authority. The closing date for the completion online or return of your own local authority common application form (CAF) is 31st October.

In addition, you MUST complete our Supplementary Information Form (SIF) ONLY if you wish to apply for a place based on MUSICAL APTITUDE.

Please check the Key Dates document on the website for the closing date for the completion of our SIF for Musical Aptitude Test.

Please contact your own Local Authority if you have any questions regarding this. If you live in Hertfordshire you are encouraged to apply online at Hertfordshire Admissions.

Do I have to return the Supplementary Information Form (SIF) or can I just apply using the Local Authority Common Application Form?

You MUST complete the SIF ONLY if you wish to apply for a place based on MUSICAL APTITUDE.

If the form is not completed, the application will be assessed using only the information included in the Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF).

We are moving into the area will you process our application from our new address?

We can only consider your child's permanent address as at 31st October. If your move is imminent and you are able to provide us with a letter from a solicitor, or other suitable professional or official, confirming the date of your move and we may consider a slight variation to this date. Further proof of address will be required once your move is completed.

What about going to Appeal?

If we are unable to offer you a place this will usually be because we are oversubscribed. You do have a statutory right to appeal to an independent appeals panel for a place for your child. Should you wish to appeal please go to the Local Authority website Hertfordshire School Appeals.