Admissions

A very warm welcome to Alban City School. We are delighted that you are considering our school for your child.

Alban City School’s admission arrangements are in line with the existing Admissions Code, The School Admissions Appeals Code, and admissions law as it applies to maintained schools and academies. Hertfordshire County Council co-ordinate the admissions process for us and all applications for places in the school are made through this process.

To apply online visit: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions

• ACS Determined Admissions Arrangements 2025-26
• ACS Determined Admissions Arrangements 2027-28
• Alban City Determined Policy 26 27-2028
• Appeals timetable 2025

Admissions consultation September 2028/29 Reception intake

Dear Parents and Carers,

Alban City School admissions consultation September 2028/29 Reception intake

In recent years the demographic in St Albans has been changing and the birth rate falling. The Hertfordshire School Planning Team has informed all the primary schools in the district that there is currently a surplus of school places for children joining Reception and the surplus is predicted to increase even more in future years. The impact of this is that many primary schools in the district are not filling to capacity in their Reception cohorts. Schools are funded according to the number of children they have on roll, so if a school is not full the funding is reduced, which in turn leads to deficit budgets which are unsustainable in the longer term.

At Alban City School our published admission number or PAN is 60 i.e. we admit up to 60 children in each year group. This is commonly referred to as a two form entry school because we have two forms or classes per year. We are currently full in some year groups, but for the last two years we have not filled to capacity in Reception. Currently there are 48 children in Year 1 and 48 children in Reception. As the number of children in the district is predicted to drop even further in the coming years, we need to make a difficult decision about whether we continue with a PAN of 60, or reduce to 30 from September 2028 and only have one Reception class. This would then continue so that the school gradually shrinks in size to become a one form entry school over time. It would not affect the class sizes of the children already at the school.

This is not something we want to happen because we believe there are many benefits from being a two form entry school, but we also have to be realistic and responsible with our budget to ensure we can continue to provide the very best education and provision for the children that attend our school in the future.

We have now entered a formal consultation period that ends on 22nd November to decide whether to reduce the PAN to 30 for September 2028 intake, or stay at 60. We are already committed to keeping the PAN at 60 for September 2027 intake. We would like to gather responses from as many people as possible, both parents and carers at our school and members of the community more generally, to help the Governing Board to make a decision. We would be very grateful if you could please respond using this form. 

Click here for the form: https://forms.gle/MNtsYoyw5k1Q8G3u9

Starting Reception 2027

For Reception 2027: We are holding tours throughout October and November. All tours are at 9:30am and last approximately 45 minutes.

Booking is essential and places are limited to 10 adults per tour. You must book a place for EACH PERSON attending. We also ask that children do not attend at this stage (babies in arms are fine though). Please be aware that there is no on-site parking.

Click on the link below or scan the QR code to book: School Tour Booking System

Our dates are as follows:

Testimonials

Here are some reviews from a pupil and some parents of children who left Year 6 recently:

“I had a great time at Alban City. Pretty much everything I did in maths and English in Year 6 I’ve used to help me in Year 7. I’ve settled in to my new school very easily because I’m used to expectations of me being high.  ACS was able to ease me into the learning experience of a Year 7 student while still being a friendly and relaxed environment. It was really hard to say goodbye to my old teachers because they made my primary school experience really great. Alban City taught me everything I needed to be a good Year 7 student.”

 

“Our daughter loved her seven years at Alban City, which left her extremely well prepared for secondary school. The ACS approach seems a little gentler than many of the other local primaries, with more focus on wellbeing and less on being swamped by homework. This more balanced approach definitely doesn’t stop the children from doing well academically however – or seamlessly transitioning to a demanding homework schedule when they begin Year 7. We couldn’t recommend ACS more highly.”  Ms H

“The years at Alban City School gave my daughter a great start to her school life, which was both nurturing and educational. With a strong foundation in the basics of maths and English and the use of external providers in some subjects, this aided her depth of learning and also paved the way for life in secondary school where they need to build relationships with a range of people. The staff and teachers at Alban City effectively prepared her for the next phase in her life and she moved onto secondary school happily and with confidence.”   Mrs S

“Alban City went to great lengths to prepare my son, who has some special educational needs, for secondary school, they also proactively contacted the new school to ensure a handover of his case notes and make sure the correct provision was in place. As a result there were no flare ups in the first few weeks at secondary school and he has settled in well. Just 2 terms in and he is achieving very well academically too.”  Mr D

“My daughter loved her time at ACS.  The staff ensured that she was brilliantly prepared – emotionally, socially and academically – for secondary school. She started there ready, curious, and quietly confident in herself.” Mrs D