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Hitchin Boys' School

Academy converter in Hitchin, SG5 1JB, taking ages 11 to 18, boys, 1,364 on roll.

Report card Ofsted, Nov 2025
4.64 mi Admitted from, latest published year
97% Full
57.1 Attainment 8, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 4.64 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.

The circle is 4.64 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.

This is not a catchment area. 4.64 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Hitchin Boys' 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.

Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside it; each opens the district's guide.

The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.

Source: Hertfordshire, published admission distances

Two schools, both in reach

Two children, or a first and second preference? Add a second school to see where both are in reach, cheapest districts first. Only a school with a published distance can be added.

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 Hitchin Boys' School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
Wilshere-Dacre Junior Academy Both in reach Primary 0.19 mi 0.2 mi
Samuel Lucas Junior Mixed and Infant School Both in reach Primary 0.82 mi 0.3 mi
Hitchin Girls' School Both in reach Secondary 3.98 mi 0.4 mi
Highbury Infant School and Nursery Both in reach Primary 13.36 mi 0.5 mi
Oughton Primary and Nursery School Both in reach Primary 11.25 mi 0.6 mi
Strathmore Infant and Nursery School Both in reach Primary 0.74 mi 0.7 mi

The distance as a picture

Hitchin Boys' School catchment area map: the 4.64 mile admission distance and the postcode districts inside it
Drawn to scale from the published figure, with the districts whose centre falls inside. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

AdmissionsNon-selective
Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formHas a sixth form
How full 1,364 pupils in 1,400 places (97% full)
TrustHITCHIN BOYS' SCHOOL
Local authorityHertfordshire

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Report card, November 2025: 7 areas strong or exceptional
Report card
  • Safeguarding Met
  • Inclusion Exceptional
  • Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
  • Achievement Strong standard
  • Attendance and behaviour Exceptional
  • Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional
  • Early years Not applicable
  • Post-16 provision Strong standard
  • Leadership and governance Exceptional
Ofsted stopped giving schools a single overall grade in 2024; from November 2025 each area is judged on this five-point scale.
Attainment 8 57.1 (2024/25)
YearProgress 8
2024/25 not published
2023/24 +0.57
2022/23 +0.39

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Hitchin Boys' School

Girls and boys0.0% girls, 100.0% boys
English as an additional language10.9% of pupils
Free school meals7.6% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Where Hitchin Boys' School's Year 11 went next

Stayed for the sixth form69.2%
Sixth-form college1.0%
Further education college21.2%
Apprenticeship1.9%
Employment0.5%
No sustained destination recorded1.0%

DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.

What it costs to live within reach of Hitchin Boys' School

Cheapest district inside the 4.64 miles: SG15, median £322,500. Dearest: SG5, £660,000.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
SG15 Central Bedfordshire 4.4 mi £322,500 94 sales
SG16 Central Bedfordshire 4.4 mi £323,000 89 sales
SG1 Stevenage 4.4 mi £365,000 81 sales
SG6 North Hertfordshire 3.1 mi £421,300 36 sales
SG5 North Hertfordshire 1.5 mi £660,000 76 sales
How to read this

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 4.64 miles the school admitted from in the latest published year, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.

Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide

Getting to Hitchin Boys' School by bus

Best-served stop: Hermitage Road, 0.1 mi away, with 8.6 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 05:50, last 23:44.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Bancroft0.1 mi1.20.00.081, 89
Grammar School Walk0.1 mi7.12.22.4101, 100, 81, 9D, 9A, 9B
Bancroft0.1 mi1.90.20.69D, 9A, 9B

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 Hitchin Boys' School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around SG5: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at SG5 1JB, 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 Hitchin Boys' School?

Hitchin Boys' 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 4.64 miles away, per Hertfordshire.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Hitchin Boys' School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 4.64 miles was enough in the latest published year. 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 Hitchin Boys' 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 Hitchin Boys' 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.