The Scholars’ Trust has approved a new oversubscription policy for the Hemel Hempstead School that will give priority from September 2027 to pupils who attended Oakleaf Primary School. The change affects secondary admissions in hemel hempstead and follows months of objections from parents and councillors.
Local Dacorum Borough Councillors estimated that around 60 students will be affected. Trust data said 100 responders backed the scheme, while 600 participants opposed it.
Oakleaf Primary priority
The trust approved plans last month to change which schools get priority for secondary places at The Hemel Hempstead School. Under the new policy, students from Oakleaf Primary School will move ahead in the oversubscription order when places are decided from September 2027.
Oakleaf Primary School is roughly 1.5 miles from The Hemel Hempstead School, and campaigners said 15 other primary education centres are closer. Parents in Boxmoor said on social media that their children would have to travel further to receive an education, and some argued that children from as far as 4.3km away could qualify for a place under the new system.
Trust and parent objections
The Scholars’ Trust said the process was compliant, lawful, procedurally fair and reasonable, and that it followed the parameters set out in the School Admissions Code 2021. The board also said the amendment would fit the trust’s values and would allow pupils to benefit from a one-trust experience.
Parents argued that an open meeting should have been held so families could discuss the impact of the changes with decision-makers. One resident wrote during the consultation period that the trust should focus on raising standards and letting results and reputation speak for itself to raise admissions for Oakleaf.
January meeting minutes
Minutes from an admissions meeting in January said officials thought complaints about increased traffic and pollution in Hemel Hempstead were not of significant concern. The same minutes said most students walk to The Hemel Hempstead School and that a change to the admissions criteria would not have a significant impact.
Even so, some parents are considering an appeal to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, and others said they have just six months to assess other schools before Hertfordshire’s application deadline. The trust declined to provide a comment for the article, leaving the approved policy in place for the September 2027 intake.
