Harpenden Academy
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Free schools in Harpenden, AL5 4EL, taking ages 4 to 11, 216 on roll.
Will an address get in?
In the varies round, the furthest-away child offered a place at Harpenden Academy lived 5.570451240881355 miles away, according to Hertfordshire. Put a postcode in and it is measured against that distance.
Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close on 15 January 2027, with offers on 16 April 2027. The address on the deadline is the one the council uses. How it works.
The circle is 5.570451240881355 miles, the distance the school admitted from in varies. Real admission areas are not circular: this is the distance, not a boundary.
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| Trust | SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Meeting the expected standard | 81.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Meeting the expected standard |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 81.0% |
| 2023/24 | 82.0% |
| 2022/23 | 79.0% |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Harpenden Academy
| Girls and boys | 55.1% girls, 44.9% boys |
| English as an additional language | 18.1% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 5.1% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
What it costs to live within reach of Harpenden Academy
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 5.570451240881355 miles the school admitted from in varies, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is AL1 at £368,000; the dearest, AL3, £1,240,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL1 | St Albans | 4.8 mi | £368,000 158 sales |
| HP2 | Dacorum | 5.5 mi | £390,000 76 sales |
| AL5 | St Albans | 0.0 mi | £461,500 88 sales |
| AL4 | St Albans | 3.8 mi | £600,000 119 sales |
| AL3 | St Albans | 2.7 mi | £1,240,000 5 sales |
Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Harpenden Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around AL5: ages, selection, and how full each one is →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report measures the distance from every nearby school to one address, alongside sold prices, flood risk, crime and the other checks on the same house.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Harpenden Academy?
Harpenden Academy 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 varies lived 5.570451240881355 miles away, per Hertfordshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Harpenden Academy?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 5.570451240881355 miles was enough in varies. 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 Harpenden Academy 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 →
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.