Hertfordshire County Council is to consult residents over plans to reduce the number of pupils admitted at four primary schools across the county, including Letchworth.

Northfields Infants School in Letchworth, which was awarded a 'Good' Ofsted rating in January of this year, has been earmarked as one of the sites.

With demand for primary school places falling in some areas and rising in others, the county council's Cabinet is launching a consultation on changing the number of pupils admitted each year at certain schools from 2025-26

Councillor Caroline Clapper, Executive Member for Education, Libraries and Lifelong Learning, said: "We want every child to have the best possible start in life, and making sure we have the right number of school places in the right areas is an important part of that.

"Our existing admission arrangements work well, with over 98% of Hertfordshire children allocated a ranked primary school and over 94% a ranked secondary school in 2023.

"However, as our population changes, and new development happens in our county, there are times when it is right to review these arrangements. We know that school places and admissions are a really important topic for parents, which is why we are committed to ensuring the everyone can have their say."

The proposals would see the published admissions number (PAN), which is the number of pupils that a school can admit into each year group, reduced at:

• Northfields Infants School in Letchworth
• Forres Primary in Hoddesdon
• Roger de Clare First School in Puckeridge
• The Grove Infants School in Harpenden

In each case, the demand for primary school places in these areas is falling, and reducing the PAN would provide a better match between demand and actual places. In all cases the reductions have been requested and supported by the Headteacher and Governing Board.

County councillors are also proposing that, if the closure of Hexton Primary School is approved, that Pirton Primary School should give increased priority to children from the parish of Hexton

The county council is also proposing to make some minor changes to the application and allocations process including:

• Reducing the time parents have to respond to the allocation of a school place from 14 day to 7 days, allowing more time for the next round of allocations
• Clarifying that new schools won't be included in the admissions process until their funding agreement is in place, to ensure there is no risk of a pupil being allocated a place at a school that may not open
• Requiring schools to confirm, before places are allocated, whether they intend to admit more pupils than stated in their PAN, to make the process smoother and more transparent

The consultation opens today, Monday, October 30 and run until 11 December.

For full details of the proposals and to take part in the consultation go to www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions