St Andrew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Hitchin

About St Andrew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Hitchin

St Andrew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School in Hitchin was rated Outstanding in its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, a significant step up from the Good rating it received in 2014. The inspection, carried out in 2018, gave top marks across the board, with leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness all judged Outstanding. A subsequent ungraded inspection in July 2024 confirmed the school remains Outstanding, though with a note of 'Concerns' attached. On the most informative exam metric available, 70% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits comfortably above the Hertfordshire local authority average of 64% for state primary schools, placing St Andrew's 13th out of 38 schools in North Hertfordshire and inside the top 50 nationally for this measure.

Digging deeper into the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the school's strongest showing was in reading, where 90% of pupils reached the expected standard and 53% achieved a higher standard. Maths followed with 80% at expected and 30% at the higher level, while writing saw 73% at expected and just 7% at the higher standard. Average scaled scores were 109 in reading and 106 in maths, both above the national benchmark of 100. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard across all three subjects was 7%, a figure that suggests the school is particularly effective at moving children to expected levels rather than pushing a large cohort into the highest bracket. With only 8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively advantaged intake, which likely supports these strong outcomes.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 140 applications for 30 places, with 41 first-preference applications and only 30 offers made. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 4.67, so families need to be confident in their application strategy. Facilities include a forest school, sensory room, chapel, sports hall, and playing fields, with clubs covering choir, book club and drama. The school has a nursery provision and caters for a range of SEND needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and visual impairment. St Andrew's is a Church of England voluntary aided primary, so faith-based admissions criteria will apply. For families seeking an Outstanding-rated primary in North Hertfordshire with strong but not elite academic results, this school is a serious contender, though securing a place will require careful planning.

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