New Parents

Our school prospectus provides a helpful summary of life at the school and further information can be found in our booklet the High Beeches Curriculum.

The majority of our children enjoy a nutritious hot meal each day provided by our school caterers and we have amongst the highest take-up of school lunches in Hertfordshire. Find out why in our short film, Lunch at High Beeches (below).

School Lunches at High Beeches

Hertfordshire Family Centre Service video presentation (below).

All new admissions are made through the local authority, Hertfordshire County Council. Parents of in-year admissions (those seeking a place in Year 1 and above and those of late applicants for the September 2024 intake into Reception) are invited to contact the school for more inforamtion about the availabilty of places and to arrange a visit where possible.

Joining Reception in September 2025

We are looking forward to welcoming our next cohort of Recpetion pupils in September 2025. We have now concluded prospective parent open mornings, during October and November. These included a presentation from the headteacher, a tour of the school led by Year 6 pupils and an opportunity to meet current parents and members of the governing body.

Applications for a Reception place must be submitted via the local authority's online portal and the initial deadline for these was 15 January 2025. For information on the late application process, please contact the local authority, Hertfordshire County Council. Those who were unable to visit in the autumn term and who subsequently made a late application can arrange an informal visit to the school by contacting the school office.

Starting School

As a school we recognise that the transition into full-time school can be a big step for both parents and children and we plan to make the process of settling in as positive and smooth as possible.

Once final allocations are made, we organise the children into two classes, striving to ensure there is a broad balance of gender, age and other characteristics, so that the children can benefit from a diverse experience in school, similar to that in real life. Where possible, we work closely with feeder settings to take account of friendship groups and learning needs based on their experience at nursery or pre-school. These class groupings are then reviewed year-on-year to consider if, at any point, the children's learning and social-emotional development would benefit from mixing up the classes as they progress from one year to another.

Parents are invited to an information evening, usually in late June, where they can find out which class their child will be in and can learn about some of the practical arrangements for starting school and about the transition process. This usually includes a short stay-and-play session towards the end of June, for both parents and children, and two further visits in June/July where the children stay on their own. Sessions are held in small groups on a number of different days so that staff and pupils can start to get to know one another really well. Finally, the children have a phased start in September, building up from half-days only to whole days over the first week of term.