Hitchin Primary school's

[UrbanBuzz]

Hi everyone,
I will soon be moving to Hitchin with my daughter who is currently in reception so will be making an in-year application. I see currently William Ransom and Mary Exton both have vacancies (I got offered and accepted a place at both schools as I expected to move earlier but had to turn down for personal reasons, I was absolutely gutted and thought these vacancies would be snapped up!)
I have extensively tried to research about people's opinions online about but can't seem to find much and the posts I come across on here are quite old.

Does anyone have any children in either of these schools? Any information will be greatly received.

Thank you.

William Ransom is by far the better school based on results but I'd be very surprised if they actually have a reception place available in year - they are supremely popular and oversubscribed! Are you sure the place is actually avaliable, have you got a current firm offer from the LEA?

Current WR head has a deserved reputation for being driven and sometimes harsh - she is very honest and it is generally her way or the high way. If you don't like the school for whatever reason they will not be the ones to change, they are so popular they don't have to. They also don't have the best of reputations when it comes to supporting SEN or below average abilities, I know of two children who were essentially 'managed out' in the last five years.

But if you're academic and bright its a fabulous school.

Hi RhubarbGin,
Thank you for your feedback.
I had an offer from the LEA last month and I spoke to the head of WR on the phone, who was lovely. Unfortunately, I had to turn the place down due to personal reasons but will definitely be moving at the end of the month.
The reception vacancy for both schools is still available on the LEA website which was updated today. I also appreciate that these vacancies change on a daily basis whereas the website only updates fortnightly.
My DD is 4, 5 in the Summer. So, she is one of the youngest. Going from her recent parent's evening; she is a very confident girl who's thriving in reading and maths but struggles a bit with her handwriting, being left handed is a contributing factor, apparently. Her listening skills are sometimes not up to scratch but what kids aren't thanks again.