Secondary Transfer to Year 7

Each year in September, 216 students are admitted to the school.  Places are allocated in strict accordance with our admissions criteria as detailed below.  You are advised to read the Policy for Secondary Transfer 2025.  All applicants must complete an application through the Local Authority.  For Hertfordshire residents the link to the online COMMON APPLICATION FORM (CAF) is available here.  We also ask families to complete our ONLINE SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FORM (SIF) available from 1 September. 

How places are allocated

Each year in September,  216 students are admitted to the school.  Places are allocated in strict accordance with our admissions criteria in the following order:
NB:  Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names Parmiter's School will be prioritised.

1.   Children Looked After

“Children Looked After”, “Children Previously Looked After” or “Children in Public Care”.  A “looked after child” or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order.  *This criterion now applies to children looked after and children who were previously looked after, including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order or a special guardianship order.

*This follows an update to the School Admissions Code.  

2.   Proximity

10% (22) places will be allocated based on the straight line distance measurement provided by Hertfordshire County Council’s computerised mapping system.  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.  (Places will not be offered, under this criterion, to applicants who qualify under other criteria.)

3.   Sibling

Children with a sibling attending the school and residing at the same family household from Monday to Friday at the time of application.  A sibling is defined in these arrangements as children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers and sisters.   The twin or other full brother or sister, born in the same academic year as an applicant offered a place, will qualify under this criterion.  Where a place has been obtained and a child admitted to Parmiter's School and it is subsequently identified that this place was gained fraudulently, there will be no sibling connection available to subsequent children from that family.

4.   Staff

Children with a parent who is a current employee at Parmiter's School with at least two years service at the time of application and/or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.  A parent means the mother, father, step-mother or step-father of the child and in every case living at the same permanent address as the child.   If the number of applications under this criterion exceeds the number of places available, the tie-break will be the length of service of the member of staff.

5.   Medical

Children for whom it can be demonstrated that there is a compelling medical reason for attending the school.  Applications under this criterion will only be considered at the time of the initial application, unless there has been a significant and exceptional change of circumstances within the family since the initial application was submitted.  All schools in Hertfordshire have experience in dealing with children with diverse medical needs.  However, in a few very exceptional cases, there are reasons why a child has to go to one specific school.  Few applications under Criterion 5 are agreed and applications can only be considered when supported by a recent letter from a professional involved with the child or family, for example a doctor or psychologist.  The supporting evidence needs to demonstrate why only Parmiter's School can meet the medical needs of the child.   All applications under this criterion will be considered at a meeting of the Admissions Committee of the Academy Trust.

6.   Academic

Up to 25% (54 places) shall be available in merit order by reference to academic ability.  In order to be considered under this criterion, a verbal reasoning test and a mathematics test must have been taken, the results of which will be used to assess academic ability.  No minimum score will be required to gain admission, places being offered strictly in descending order of each applicant's standardised test score.  Preparation for the tests is unnecessary.  The tests are administered by the SW Herts Consortium (Parmiter's School, Watford Boys' Grammar School, Watford Girls' Grammar School, Rickmansworth School, Queens' School, Croxley Danes School and St Clement Danes School) and registration for the tests must have been made by the deadline.  Information about the tests and the arrangements, including examples of the questions, are available on the school website: www.parmiters.herts.sch.uk and the SW Herts Consortium website: https://www.swhertsschools.org.uk/

7.   Music

Up to 10% (21 places) will be allocated based on Musical aptitude.  Applications will only be considered on the basis of the second stage music test.  Further information on music testing is available in the Secondary Transfer Admissions Policy 2024 and also on the SW Herts Consortium website.    

8.   Distance

This is an overspill criterion.  If there are any places left at the end of the allocations, we return to the Proximity list.

Catchment Area/Priority Postcodes

Priority will be given to applicants from the following postcodes:

Postcode Numbers admitted
WD3 to WD25 inclusive
AL1, AL2, AL3
HP1, HP2, HP3
HA6

Up to 95% of the places allocated under Criterion 6 (Academic) and Criterion 7 (Music) will be from the priority postcodes.

51 Academic places
20 Music places

Any postcode not listed above Up to 5% of the places allocated under Criterion 6 (Academic) and Criterion 7 (Music) will be from any other postcode.
3 Academic places
1 Music place

Entrance Tests

Parents of children who wish to apply for the entrance tests will need to register with the SW Herts Consortium.  Parents should register online with the SW Herts Consortium.  Registration will open in April 2025 of Year 5.  No late applications will be accepted.  Information on the SW Herts Consortium entrance tests, including details of the tests and calendar dates, can be viewed via the following link:  http://www.swhertsschools.org.uk/.  

Secondary Transfer to Year 7 in 2025 (Children in Year 6)

This applies to children born between 01/09/2013 and 31/08/2014 or who are currently in Year 6.  Places for Secondary Transfer 2023 were allocated as follows:

No Criterion No. of places
1    Children Looked After 4
2    Proximity to the School 22
3    Siblings 82
4    Children of Staff 5
5    Medical 0
6    Academic Assessment 54
7    Music 21
8    Proximity (overspill) 20
     Children with an EHC Plan  8
  TOTAL 216

Information on admissions as well as important dates can be found on Hertfordshire Local Authority website.

Secondary Transfer to Year 7 in 2026 (Children in Year 5)

This applies to children born between 01/09/2014 and 31/08/2015 or who will be starting in Year 5 from September 2024.

If you think you may wish your child to be considered for admission under the Academic and/or Music criterion, you must have taken the SW Herts Consortium entrance test.

Parents of children that wish to apply for the entrance tests will need to register with the SW Herts Consortium.  Online registration will open in April 2025 and the deadline to register will be in June 2025 (Dates to be advised).  No late applications will be accepted.  Information on the SW Herts Consortium entrance tests can be viewed via the following link:  http://www.swhertsschools.org.uk/.