ADMISSIONS
ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS 2025/26
ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS 2025/26
2025/26 Admission Link Allocations for September 2025 will be made on 16th April 2025. Contact the school office if you would like to find out more about admissions.
Open Aston Civil Parish Map on Google Maps
Important note: The above link to the Aston Civil Parish map on Google Maps is to be viewed on a desktop computer/laptop. Due to the variations in mobile mapping software the boundary may not display correctly if the map is viewed on a mobile device.
DEFERRED PLACES IN RECEPTION
If parents so wish, they may defer the date their child takes up their Reception place until later in the school year but not beyond the date at which the child reaches statutory school age (or the start of the summer term if earlier).
TIEBREAK
When there is a need for a tie break where two different addresses are the same distance from a school, in the case of a block of flats for example, the lower door number will be deemed nearest as logically this will be on the ground floor and therefore closer. If there are two identical addresses of separate applicants, the tie break will be random. Every child entered onto the HCC admissions database has an individual random number assigned, between 1 and 1 million, against each preference school. When there is a need for a final tie break the random number is used to allocate the place, with the lowest number given priority.
ADMISSIONS ARRANGEMENTS
Parents are welcome to visit the school when considering seeking a place for their child/children.
• Further details about the school can be found on our website, www.astonmarys.herts.sch.uk.
• When a single twin/multiple birth child is allocated a place at the school, we will admit the other twin/multiple birth child/ren, even if this means exceeding the school’s published admission number.
CHILDREN OUT OF YEAR GROUP
If parents/carers believe their child/children should be educated in a different year group, at the time of application, supporting evidence must be submitted from relevant professionals working with the child/children and family stating why they must be placed outside their normal age appropriate cohort. The Governing Board which is the admissions authority, through a panel process, will decide whether the application will be accepted. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and in the best interests of the child. There is no guarantee that an application will be accepted and parents have no right of appeal against the Governing Board’s refusal to admit a child outside his/her normal age group.
IN-YEAR ADMISSIONS
All in year admissions are co-ordinated by the school governing body and will depend on vacancies in the relevant year group at the time of application. Parents seeking an in-year school place should contact the school directly for further information and complete the in-year application form on the school’s website. A copy of the SIF will need to be completed and returned for applications under categories 5 or 6. In the event of there being more applicants than places available, the admission criteria will be applied. The school aims to inform parents of the outcome of their in year application in writing within 10 school days and will notify parents in any event within 15 school days of the application being received. If an application is unsuccessful, Hertfordshire County Council will write to you with registration details to enable you to login and appeal online at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals
Prospective parents/carers are always welcome to visit the school. To do so, please make an appointment with the school office.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for a place, please go to www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions. You will be able to apply when admissions are open.
Parents/carers applying under categories 5 or 6 are also required to complete a School Information Form (SIF) available from the school or on our school website: www.astonmarys.herts.sch.uk/about-aston-stmarys/admissions and return it to the school. If a SIF is not completed, the Governing Board will apply the school’s Admission Arrangements using only the information supplied on the Hertfordshire County Council application form, which may result in the application being given a lower priority. This SIF should be returned to the school before the deadline.
It is the parents’/carers’ responsibility to provide all the information required. The school is not obliged to chase missing information. The school reserves the right to amend the category applied under if the forms are not completed fully or the information cannot be verified.
The Local Authority will notify all parents of the place offered or refused at the same time as it does for Community Schools. Details of this can be found at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions.
OVER SUBSCRIPTION
If there is over subscription in any category, the Governing Board will determine the allocation of places in that category by geographical proximity using a straight line measurement from the child’s home address to the school. A ‘straight line’ distance measurement is used in all home-to-school distance measurements for community and voluntary controlled schools in Hertfordshire. Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system to two decimal places. The measurement is taken from the Address Base Premium address point of your child/children’s house to the address point of the school. Address Base Premium data is a nationally recognised method of identifying the location of schools and individual residences. Where two addresses measure the same distance from the school and a further tie-break is needed, the Governing Board will arrange an independently-supervised, random draw in order to allocate the place.
ADMISSIONS FILES
| Document Name | Files |
|---|---|
| Categories 5 & 6 Admission Application Only | Download File |
| Admissions Policy 2024/2025 | Download File |
| Admissions Policy 2025/2026 | Download File |
| Admissions Policy 2026/2027 | Download File |
| Aston Admissions Map | Download File |
| In Year Application Form | Download File |
SUMMER BORN CHILDREN
If parents believe their child/children born between 1 April 2021 and 31 August 2022, will not be ready to start Reception in the 2025/26 academic year, they may instead defer their application to start Reception the following year (2026/27). Parents who want to defer their child’s entry should contact the school directly at the earliest possible stage to discuss further. Please note that there is no guarantee that a place will be available in the preferred age group and that an application must be made in the following year’s main admission round.
PART TIME PLACES
If parents so wish, a child may attend part time until they reach compulsory school age.
CONTINUING INTEREST LIST
After places have been offered, the Governors of the school will maintain a continuing interest (waiting) list. A child’s position on a CI list will be determined by the admission criteria outlined above and a child’s place on the list can change as other children join or leave it. The School will contact parents/carers if a vacancy becomes available and it can be offered to a child. The Continuing Interest Lists will be maintained for reception year group until the 31st December 2025. To retain a CI application after this time, parents must make an in-year application. Continuing interest lists will be maintained for all in-year applications for all year groups. Parents are asked to notify the school if they wish their child’s name to be removed from a continuing interest list.
CROSS BOARDER CO-ORDINATION
Please apply for primary places on your home LA’s application form.
APPEALS
Parents wishing to appeal who applied through Hertfordshire’s online system should log in to their online application and click on the link “register an appeal”. Out-of-county residents and paper applicants should call the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 to request their registration details and log into:
www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals and click on the link “log into the appeals system”.
APPENDIX 1
SG2 postcode area
Arundel Close 7HW
Aston End Rd 7ET, 7EU, 7EX, 7EY
Aston Lane 7EH
Aston Bury Lane 7EG
Aston Bury Manor 7EH
Benington Rd 7DX, 7ED, 7DY, 7EA, 7EN
Broadwater Lane 7EN
Brookfield 7HB
Dene Lane 7EP, 7ES
Garden Field 7EZ
Holders Lane 7HH
Lanterns Lane 7HP
Long Lane 7HG, 7HD, 7HE, 7HF
Long Ridge 7EW,
New Park Lane 7ED
School Lane 7HA
St.Mary’s Close 7EQ
Stringers Lane 7EF
Tatlers Lane 7HJ, 7HL, 7HN
Wrights Orchard 7HR, 7EJ
Yeomans Drive 7EJ
SG14 postcode area
Frogmore SG14 3RR ,
Waterworks Cottages SG14 3RS ,
Walkern Rd SG14 3RS and 3RN and
Hooks Cross SG14 3RY
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
Places are offered using the following criteria applied in order.
CATEGORY 1
Children in England looked after and children who were previously looked after but ceased to be
so because they were adopted, or became subject to a child arrangements order or a special guardianship
order including those children who appear to the Governing Board to have been in state care outside England
and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
CATEGORY 2
Children of parents or carers who reside at any address that is within the school’s catchment
area of Aston ( which comprises the streets and postcodes attached in Appendix 1) with a sibling at the
school at the time of admission.
CATEGORY 3
Children of parents or carers who reside at any address that is within the school’s catchment
area of Aston (see Appendix 1).
CATEGORY 4
Children of parents or carers outside the school’s catchment of Aston who have siblings
attending the school at the time of admission (see note b).
CATEGORY 5
Children with at least one parent or carer who is a practising member of St Mary’s Church,
Aston (see note c).
CATEGORY 6
Children with at least one parent or carer who is a practising member of any Christian
denomination that is a member of “Churches Together in Stevenage” (see note c).
CATEGORY 7
Any other children.
NOTES
Click on the tabs to expand
A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions at the time of application. Previously looked after children who were not looked after immediately before being adopted or becoming subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order will not be prioritised under Category 1. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority
The sibling must be on the roll of the school at the date of application (or have accepted the offer of a place at the school) and be expected to still be at the school at the time the new child/children join. This means the sibling will normally be in Reception to Year 5 at the time of allocation of places. Sibling includes: brother or sister, half-brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, child of the parent/carer or partner, and children looked after or previously looked after. This doesn’t include children temporarily living in the same house, for example, a looked after child in a short-term foster or bridging placement. In every case, the sibling must be living permanently in the same family home (at least Monday to Friday).
Practising member of a Church is defined as someone who attends a service of worship in that
Church at least once a month.
• This attendance must have been at this frequency for a minimum of two years prior to receipt of the
application.
• In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed
for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of
these admissions arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the
church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.
• All such applications must be accompanied by a supplementary information form, signed by the
minister or priest of the church concerned.
• If applicants are new to the area and previously attended another Christian church, before starting
to attend one of the churches listed in categories 5 or 6, previous church connections can be used
when calculating the required two-year period of attendance. The SIF must be signed by the
minister or priest of both the churches. “Another Christian church” here means any church which is a
member of Churches Together in England, the Evangelical Alliance and/or Affinity.
The address provided on the application form must be the child’s current permanent address at the time of
application
• “At the time of application” means the closing date for applications
• “Permanent” means that the child has lived at that address for at least a year
Where a family has not lived at an address for a year at the time of application, they must be able to
demonstrate that they own the property or have a tenancy agreement for a minimum of 12 months and the
child must be resident in the property at the time of application. If, because of the nature of the
agreement, it is not possible to provide a 12-month tenancy agreement, alternative proof of address will be
requested and verified as necessary with Hertfordshire County Council’s Shared Anti-Fraud Service.
It is for the Governing Board (as the admission authority) to determine the address to be used for
admission purposes.
The application can only be processed using one address. If a child lives at more than one address (for
example due to a separation) the address used will be the one where the child lives for the majority of the
time. If a child lives at two addresses equally, parents/carers should make a single joint application naming one
address.
If a child’s permanent residence is disputed, parents/carers should provide court documentation to evidence
the address that should be used for admission allocation purposes. If two applications are received, with
different addresses, neither will be processed until the address issue is reconciled.
Applications made as part of the main Reception admissions round are processed by Hertfordshire County
Council (“HCC”) on behalf of the Governing Board, in accordance with HCC’s published coordinated admission
scheme.
If HCC receives two different applications for the same child from the same address e.g. containing
different preferences, parents/carers will be invited to submit a joint application or provide court
documentation to evidence the preferences that should be used for the admission process. Until the
preference issue is reconciled, neither application will be processed.
For the main Reception admission round, if the initial differing applications (one or both) were received by
HCC “on-time”, an amended joint application will also be considered “on-time” if received before 1st February 2024 (the late deadline). If the amended joint application is received after 1st February 2024, it will be treated as “late”.