Egerton primary school or Bexton Primary school

[Sueqozzie]

Looking at moving to Knutsford in the new year and would need to apply for Reception for DD1 by mid January. I've narrowed down potential choice to either Egerton or Bexton but don't know much about either. Has anyone looked at these schools and made a choice of one over the other and if so, what were your reasons? How hard are they to get into?
Thanks in advance.

bump :-)

Knutsford was very short of school places this year and the expectation is the same next year.
Get hold or look online at Cheshire East's supplementary admission brochure. Bexton and Egerton are the go-to schools actually in Knutsford. Bexton has an admission number of 60 and there were 139 applicants for sept 2012 entry. Egerton is only 30 admission number but still had 128 applicants.
The admission criteria for maintained schools in Cheshire East is siblings, then those living in catchment and then outside catchment. I believe that there were very few from out of catchment who got places this year.
So you need to check which school you are in catchment for as a priority and also how far you seem to be away from the schools. Could I also suggest you look seriously at the other two schools near the centre of Knutsford, which are Manor Park and St Vincent de Paul catholic primary school.
You have to apply by Jan 15th to be considered as on time and it is the place where you are living then which is counted as the place of residence. If you are in the process of moving then there is a bit of leeway and as long as you apply before the 15th Jan to start with then you can change your address up to the26th Feb (I think). After the second date you cannot change address without your application being considered a late application, that is only be considered after everybody else.
You need to move ASAP or you will definitely end up with a problem around residency.

Admissions, thank you for your detailed response . It sounds like you know the area well. I've had a look at the other primaries you've suggested but not being Catholic, wouldn't like my DD's chance at St VdP and looking at 2011 KS2 results for Manor Park wouldn't favour it. Is there somewhere else in the area that you could suggest? We would be renting initially.

Hi Suequozzie, my DD is in year 1 at bexton, very impressed so far with teaching, facilities, etc. Other primary schools are Lower Peover, High Legh and Mobberley, all within a couple of miles, depending on where you rent.

Hi Sue - my ds is at Bexton and he is thriving, the school is fabulous and it was at the top of my list when applying. Egerton is also very very good however getting is is VERY difficult, it is a small school however rumour has it they are introducing an additional reception class next year I think to deal with the high birth rates around the area. Manor Park is a good school, however I would not even consider it, take a drive by at drop off or pick up to see what I mean... Mobberly Primary is also excellent.

St Vincents is outstanding but you say you are not Catholic, again, high intake requests.

If you want any more info feel free to pm me

I think that others have named the obvious other schools in the Knutsford area. From your point of view the key is to have your accommodation sorted out this term and to be on at least a 6 month rent, so that there is no question raised by CE over the validity of the rental of the accommodation. Also check the distance that the last pupil was admitted on for this year, as a guie to how close you need to be to the various schools to get a place.
I sit on admission appeals in various Local Authorities including CE and I know how tight places are in the area. CE have been looking much more closely at suspect applications and parents have lost places when they have been shown to have submitted false information.

Thanks for additional information, kipper. Lower Peover looks impressive. Guess its also difficult to get into?
FB, do you think Egerton or LA would tell me if an additional Reception class was likely?
Admissions, how would I check the distance of accepted pupils? I can't find a specific Admissions policy for either school.

Sue,
This will send you to the appropriate page for CE primary admissions. Most of the valuable information is in the supplementary booklet.
www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/education_and_learning/schools/admissions/information_booklets.aspx

Bexton, Egerton and Peover Superior Endowed Primary (controlled) to give it its full title are all LA maintained schools and therefore have a common admission criteria which is 1) Looked after children 2) siblings 3) living in catchment, 4) pupils living nearest the school, not in catchment. Distance is the determining factor and is measured as straight line distance.

I did indicate in previous posts that things were very tight in the Knutsford area so PLEASE do not read anything into this for 2013 entry because I have no idea what CE are going to do but for September 2012 entry, but the admission numbers are the same as in 2012 -

Bexton had an admission number of 60 and took 60 pupils
Egerton had an admission number of 30 but took 47 pupils
Peover had an admission number of 11 but took 14 pupils

Data on the initial allocations is in the supplementary book. Bexton took all in area, 12 on distance and furthest distance was 0.926 miles. Egerton took all in area, none on distance and the furthest in catchment pupil was 1.922miles. Peover took all in area, 6 on distance and the furthest distance was 3.252 miles. This is the data from the initial allocations and I know there were changes at both Egerton and Bexton with late applications, so whilst it might give you an idea of sensible distance from a school, you must not rely on the data as it does change from one year to another.

Everybody is assuming that 2013 will be as tight as 2012 when it comes to admission numbers but last year I do think that in the Knutsford area it was just one of those years! You can try asking the LA admission office if Egerton are going to take more again but I suspect that they will be tight lipped at present. You are more likely to get an answer or nudge in the right direction out of the school than the LA, as they will have to agree it to start with, so being nice to the head and school office may be a productive move.

Thanks Admissions for the link and the information. I am working my way through the guide and the supplementary booklet. On first glance it would seem that based on 2012 admissions then Bexton is a more likely chance than Egerton. Of course I appreciate that it could all be different for 2013. However, given that priorities 1 and 2 don't apply for us then being as close as possible to the school and within catchment area gives us the best chance of being successful.