School guide · Hertfordshire · Day · 11+, deferred 13+, direct 13+ and 16+
St Albans School: going coeducational one year group at a time
St Albans is becoming coeducational one cohort at a time, so the word ‘coed’ is not enough for a 2027 family. Year 7 is mixed; most older years are not yet. Alongside that transition, the school offers a large 11+ intake, bespoke online testing, substantial late-coach coverage and unusually specific limits on individual Learning Support.
Updated · Sources last reviewed · By Eleven Plus Diary
Coeducation is phased, not complete in every year
The school’s coeducation timeline says girls and boys entered Year 7 together from September 2026. Mixed direct Year 9 entry begins in 2028, then the change grows upward. Sixth Form was already mixed.
For September 2027, Year 7 is therefore mixed while most older year groups remain boys-only. No target gender ratio is published. Ask for the expected girls/boys split in the joining cohort, staffing and facilities changes, and how pupil experience is being gathered after the first year.
In January 2026 St Albans and Beechwood Park announced that they had joined while retaining separate names, leadership, DfE registrations, inspections and day-to-day autonomy. Beechwood pupils have a preferential pathway subject to criteria that are not public; it is not an automatic place.
Breadth is useful only when choices fit the same timetable
The current-linked curriculum guide describes integrated science in Years 7–8 and separate Biology, Chemistry and Physics from Year 9. Triple or Double Award follows later; D&T GCSE requires Year 9 D&T, and Latin, Greek or both can continue at GCSE.
That guide covers 2025/26 rather than the 2027 options. A course visible in an older guide is not a guaranteed combination for a future cohort.
The school advertises about 200 lunch and after-school clubs. The 2025 inspection independently identified co-curricular provision as a significant strength and said participation and overcommitment were monitored.
The late-coach network makes the activity day more plausible
A published typical day begins with registration at 08:35 and six 50-minute lessons finish at 16:00. That wording sits within the Sixth-form FAQ, so confirm that younger years follow the same finish rather than silently extending it to every pupil.
The current transport page publishes 13 inbound routes, 12 returns at 16:00 and eight late routes at 18:00. Daily charges are £10.49–£13.15, billed termly.
That is stronger late-day evidence than a vague coach-map claim, but capacity and the exact stop still control. Match likely clubs to an actual late route, ask whether a seat is guaranteed and plan the final journey home. “48 minutes from London” is not a door-to-door promise.
The published one-to-one allowance is much smaller than weekly tuition
All new pupils are screened for literacy and processing, and the school maintains Individual Learning Profiles. A pupil with an ILP may receive up to three 50-minute one-to-one Learning Support sessions per year, alongside classroom strategies.
That is unusually useful specificity—and a warning not to infer open-ended specialist teaching. Current evidence and notice deadlines are not public.
The October 2025 inspection recorded 207 pupils with SEND and 128 with EAL; later GIAS data recorded 234 receiving SEN support. The dates and categories differ, so they do not prove a trend. The inspection found needs identified and supported, but individual fit still requires a written delivery plan.
Pupils are expected to bring their own device, but the school does not publish a current mobile-phone rule.
What the 2026 results tell you about the school
| Qualification | Pupils or exam entries counted | Headline result |
|---|---|---|
| A level | 525 subject entries | 29% A*; 66% A*–A; 91% A*–B |
| GCSE | 139 candidates; entry total unclear | 59% 8–9; 81% 7–9; 99.8% 4–9 |
The results page does not provide a reliable total number of GCSE subject entries: it includes an unexplained duplicated “1365” row, and a figure in the accompanying text does not reconcile with the table. The A-level table gives 525 entries without stating the number of pupils.
The October 2025 ISI inspection found all five sets of standards met and co-curricular provision a significant strength. Its sole next step was more systematic careers education in Years 7–9. It also recommended approval of the material change to coeducation.
Lunch prevents a neat all-in annual figure
The current fee page publishes September 2026 tuition of £10,152 per term including VAT, or £30,456 for three terms. Registration is £150 plus VAT, shown here as £180. A five per cent sibling discount is published.
Lunch is compulsory and separately billed for Years 7–10 at £5.72 per day without VAT. The school does not publish the billable-day count, so an honest annual total cannot be calculated. Public exam board charges are extra; absence and personal-effects insurance are optional.
Deposit, acceptance payment, notice terms and a complete list of trips or materials were not public when checked.
Remission usually starts at 40%
Means-tested remission is normally 40–100% and described as unlikely below 40%. Discretionary support may also cover coach travel or essential trips. Awards depend on limited funds, are reviewed annually and may include a home visit.
The 11+ combines six online sections with a human second stage
The current Lower School page names Maths, English, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, puzzles and problem-solving, and creative comprehension. The bespoke online assessment mixes adaptive and non-adaptive sections and is taken at school.
Successful first-stage candidates return for a short individual interview and two small-group trial lessons. A confidential current-school reference is requested after application. The school publishes an official Quest familiarisation tool but no score, weighting or interview-to-place denominator.
About 80 Year 7 places and roughly 300 usual candidates are published. That describes historical scale, not offers, later acceptances or one child’s probability. The school says first-stage outcomes arrive by the first Friday after the test, but does not date the callback or final reply.
Use the official familiarisation tool so the screen feels familiar. Beyond that, useful preparation is ordinary conversation and group work: explaining an idea, listening to someone else and carrying on calmly when a question feels difficult. The school does not publish interview questions. Our 11+ guide helps coordinate the wider application.
Deferred and direct Year 9 places are not one pool
A Year 6 pupil can sit the same 11+ for a deferred Year 9 place. Once accepted, the place depends on remaining at the current prep school and maintaining good progress and conduct. St Albans requests reports in Years 7 and 8 but publishes no further formal entrance exam.
Direct 13+ uses the same six online areas as 11+: Maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, puzzles and problem-solving, and creative comprehension. Every direct candidate also has an individual interview that day, rather than waiting for a later callback.
The school describes about 80 deferred places and, separately, approximately 60–70 Year 9 places on its direct-entry page. It does not present these as two pools that can be added together. If you are planning for 2029, ask how many direct places are expected once deferred offers are accounted for.
For direct September 2027 entry, the headline says register 13 November and assess 11 December 2026. The same page’s generic FAQ says 30 November, late January and offers before half term. Use the explicit cycle dates provisionally and request offer and reply dates in writing.