Schools and learning

Emergency school closures

Hertfordshire has over 500 schools across the county. In severe weather conditions, the decision about whether to close the school is made by the headteacher in consultation with the chair of governors. It is based on local conditions, and often depends on whether enough teachers have been able to get to the school to ensure pupil safety. Some might be able to open, others nearby might be forced to close.

What happens during severe weather?

Your school will tell you in advance how they intend to notify you if the school is closed. You can also check to see if your school is closed on this website by following this link; you should also listen to your local radio station.

The station will announce the school closures regularly throughout the 'Drivetime' slot in the morning and/or put a list of closed schools on their website if possible (please note that not all stations put the information on their website).

To find out if your school is closed, listen to the following radio stations.

Links to the websites for these stations can be found on the right.

Heart FM (97.6FM) Dunstable

Areas covered: St Albans, Hitchen, Berkhamsted, Stevenage, Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead.

Heart 103 Cambridge

Areas covered: Royston

Heart 96.9 (Beds)

Areas covered: Letchworth and Hitchin

Herts Mercury (96.6FM)

Areas covered: Watford, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Rickmansworth, Berkhampstead, Redbourn and Borehamwood.

BBC Three Counties Radio (103.8FM/95.5FM or 630MW/1161MW)

Areas covered: The whole of Hertfordshire.

Ten17 FM (101.7FM)

Areas covered: East Herts including Hertford, Ware, Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Bishop’s Stortford and Hoddesdon.

Mix 96 (96.2 FM)

Areas covered: Tring and Berkhamstead.

Hertbeat FM (106.7FM or 106.9FM)

Areas covered: Stevenage, Letchworth, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Hitchin, Ware and Hertford.

Radio Verulam (92.6FM)

Areas covered: St Albans, Radlett, Shenley plus parts of Harpenden.

Please remember that each individual school will make a decision on their circumstances, so please check whether your school is open before setting out.

We also encourage schools to make full use of their websites and answerphone messages to publish news and information whenever possible, but remember that during severe weather staff may not be able to get to the school office to leave a message or answer the phone.