Pirton School
High Street, Pirton, Hitchin, SG5 3PS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jenn Magdeburg
- Constituency
- Hitchin
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 175
- Pupils on roll
- 136
- URN
- 117128
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01462712370
About this school
Pirton School is a community primary school in Hitchin. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 136 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Pirton School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 22 | 12 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 50% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 0% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 59% | 92% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 64% | 67% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 75% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Pirton School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 143 |
| 2023/24 | 150 |
| 2024/25 | 135 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Pirton School compares
Pirton School ranked 178th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 4.4% | 17.8% | 136 | — |
| Stondon Lower School | — | 4% | 8.6% | 136 | 2.1 miles |
| Oughton Primary and Nursery School | 48% | 5.1% | 47.5% | 195 | 2.1 miles |
| Shillington Lower School | — | 6.9% | 8.4% | 94 | 2.2 miles |
| Ickleford Primary School | 67% | 3.1% | 13.9% | 213 | 2.3 miles |
| Strathmore Infant and Nursery School | — | 4% | 3.4% | 198 | 2.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report6 May 2026
- 17 October 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.78%
- English as an additional language
- 2.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.42%
- Persistent absence
- 11.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stondon Lower School2.1 miles
Primary · Henlow
-
Oughton Primary and Nursery School2.1 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Shillington Lower School2.2 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Ickleford Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Strathmore Infant and Nursery School2.4 miles
Primary · Hitchin
Other schools in Hitchin
Pirton School ranks 13th of the 22 ranked primary schools in Hitchin.
- Breachwood Green Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Codicote Church of England Primary School Primary
- Graveley Primary School Primary
- Highbury Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Highover Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Ickleford Primary School Primary
- Kimpton Primary School Primary
- Mary Exton Primary School Primary
- Offley Endowed Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Oughton Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Preston Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Pirton School teach?
- Pirton School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Hitchin.
- Who is the headteacher of Pirton School?
- The headteacher of Pirton School is Mrs Jenn Magdeburg, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Pirton School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Pirton School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Pirton School?
- Pirton School has 136 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Pirton School full?
- Pirton School has capacity for 175 pupils and 136 on roll (78%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Pirton School a faith school?
- No. Pirton School has no designated religious character.
- Does Pirton School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Pirton School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Pirton School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Pirton School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Pirton School ranked 178th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Pirton School's absence rate?
- Pirton School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Pirton School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Pirton School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 15 July 2026.