980 private primary school pupils apply for state secondary places in Hertfordshire

Almost 1,000 children at private primary schools have applied for places at Hertfordshire’s state secondaries from September.

In last year’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the 20% VAT exemption for independent schools would end in January and, from April, charitable business rate relief would be removed.

The change is expected to raise £1.725 billion a year for public spending, according to the Treasury.

In Hertfordshire, the county council, as the local education authority, has received 980 applications for September’s Year 7 intake from children currently educated in the private sector.

This total is almost 100 more than last year. However, officials will have to wait until the end of the admissions process – when offers have been accepted or declined – before they know how many additional places, if any, will be taken up.

Traditionally, the majority of parents whose children attend private primary schools have turned down any places offered at Hertfordshire secondary schools. In 2024, 36% of offers made to those parents were accepted.

Should that trend continue this year, officials say 353 children who previously attended a private sector primary would join a Hertfordshire state secondary in September. That would be an increase of 31 secondary students across the county, compared to the previous year. However, the council could be called on to provide places for hundreds more.

The council’s executive member for education, libraries and lifelong learning, Cllr Caroline Clapper, stressed there would be places available for children moving from the independent sector.

She said: “We have had an increase of in-year applications from the independent sector, but we are not yet seeing levels that would impact our ability to deliver a great education to our children in Hertfordshire.

“I imagine, as time moves forward and term after term, affordability may become an issue for parents and then we may face an influx of applications both in-year and at phase transfer.

“We’ve been aware of the Government’s proposals to levy VAT on private school fees for some time and have been planning accordingly.

“We do have enough places across our schools if children from the independent sector move to the state sector, but those places may not be at their first preference or their nearest school.”

Parents across the county who have applied for a secondary school place this year will find out on Monday (March 3) which school they have been allocated.

As at March 1, 2024, a total of 18,402 children – 14,731 within Hertfordshire and 3,671 from outside – applied for a secondary and upper school place in the county starting last September, down 222 on 2023, but nine in-demand schools across the county offered 252 extra places.