Bernards Heath Junior School
Community school in St Albans, AL3 5HP, taking ages 7 to 11, 353 on roll.
Homes you looked at
How far each is from Bernards Heath Junior School, from its postcode's centre. Distance did not limit entry in the latest published year, on Hertfordshire's figure, so each reads Very likely.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
Distance did not limit entry in the latest published year: Hertfordshire records the furthest offer at 345.54 miles, further than any school run. Distance is not what will decide a place here.
Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.
How this compares: every Hertfordshire school's distance, tightest first →
No circle to draw: 345.54 miles is not a distance limit.
Bernards Heath Junior School: no circle, distance did not limit entry Maple Primary School: 15.65 miles, published by Hertfordshire
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Bernards Heath Junior School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
With no distance limit the map shows the school and the postcode you check, and claims nothing about a boundary.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
Source: Hertfordshire, published admission distances
Where Bernards Heath Junior School and Maple Primary School are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. Maple Primary School admitted from 15.65 miles in the latest published year, published by Hertfordshire. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
Districts inside both distances mean nothing when one of the two did not limit entry: a figure beyond any school run would put half a county inside it. The map above still shows both schools, and the postcode checker answers for both.
Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.
Drop Maple Primary School and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Hertfordshire, 109 of 519 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (21.0%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Bernards Heath Junior School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernards Heath Infant and Nursery School Both in reach | Primary | 18.95 mi | 0.2 mi |
| Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School Both in reach | Primary | 16.09 mi | 0.4 mi |
| Maple Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 15.65 mi | 0.6 mi |
| Alban City School Both in reach | Primary | 7.68 mi | 0.7 mi |
| Margaret Wix Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 7.4 mi | 0.7 mi |
| Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School Both in reach | Primary | 5.31 mi | 0.8 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 353 pupils in 360 places (98% full) |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 29 January 2024 |
| Meeting the expected standard | 78.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Meeting the expected standard |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 78.0% |
| 2023/24 | 85.0% |
| 2022/23 | 79.0% |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Bernards Heath Junior School
| Girls and boys | 50.7% girls, 49.3% boys |
| English as an additional language | 17.6% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 7.6% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Getting to Bernards Heath Junior School by bus
Best-served stop: Seymour Road, 0.1 mi away, with 1.7 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 07:12, last 19:39.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seymour Road | 0.1 mi | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 357, 304, 305 |
| Seymour Road | 0.1 mi | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 357, 304, 305 |
| Firbank Road | 0.2 mi | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 305 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Bernards Heath Junior School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around AL3: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at AL3 5HP, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Bernards Heath Junior School?
Bernards Heath Junior School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in the latest published year lived 345.54 miles away, per Hertfordshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Bernards Heath Junior School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 345.54 miles was enough in the latest published year, and at 98% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Bernards Heath Junior School guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every Hertfordshire school's distance
All Hertfordshire schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put Bernards Heath Junior School's figure on your own site
A small badge with the published distance that links back here, for a school website, parents' group or forum.
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Admission distance published by Hertfordshire. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.