School profile Verified 2 June 2026

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea 11+

Westcliff High School for Girls

Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 0BS

A selective girls grammar school in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, serving ages 11-18 with a sixth form and around 1,342 pupils on roll.

Girls Academy converter Ages 11-18 Sixth form CSSE
Year 7 places
192
Competition i
High
Ofsted
Outstanding
11+ route
CSSE
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At a glance

Key facts

GCSE rank
UK Rank #46
Admissions
Girls only
Assessment
CSSE
Places in Year 7
192
Competition i
High
Catchment
SS0 to SS9 forms the local priority area; up to 154 places are reserved for that area, including up to 15 preferential-consideration places.
Ofsted
Outstanding

Overview

Westcliff High School for Girls has educated girls in Southend since 1920 and now welcomes boys into its high-achieving sixth form. The Kenilworth Gardens academy grammar has about 1,340 pupils and sits within the South East Essex Academy Trust.

The school's motto, Fide et Fortitudine - By Faith and Fortitude - matches a values framework built around leadership, enrichment, scholarship and kindness. WHSG's vision is to develop the next generation of leaders, with independent learning, resilience, equality, inclusion and community contribution presented as part of the same ambition as examination success.

The curriculum intent is broad and balanced, designed to build knowledge, oracy, creativity and curiosity from KS3 through KS5. The sixth form offers 24 A-level subjects and EPQ, while enrichment runs through clubs, societies, House activity, student roles, DofE, World Challenge, sport, music, drama, STEM competitions, debating, Green Group, EDI work, careers provision and trips in the UK and overseas.

Year 7 has 192 places and entry is through the CSSE English and mathematics papers. The school reserves up to 154 places for candidates in SS0 to SS9, with preferential-consideration places and ranked passing marks used within the published rules. Public outcomes are very strong: Ofsted Outstanding, Progress 8 around +0.90, 100% grade 5+ in English and maths, and 24.8% AAB or better at A level.

Key points

Assessment route
CSSE across a 2-stage process, covering English and Maths.
Places and demand
192 places in Year 7 and High
Catchment
SS0 to SS9 forms the local priority area; up to 154 places are reserved for that area, including up to 15 preferential-consideration places.
Results
100% grade 5+ in English and maths and 75.6 Attainment 8
Sixth form
Sixth form available with 24.8% AAB or better and 76% in higher education.

GCSE benchmark

Latest 2024/25 KS4 measures compared with Southend-on-Sea and England.

School Local authority England
GCSE benchmark comparison Latest GCSE benchmark measures for Westcliff High School for Girls, Southend-on-Sea, and England. 0 50 100 Att. 8 5+ E&M EBacc APS EBacc %
Attainment 8
75.6
Grade 5+ English and maths
100%
EBacc APS
7.28
EBacc entry
92.4%

Attainment 8 trend

Recent published Attainment 8 scores compared with Southend-on-Sea and England.

School Local authority England
Attainment 8 trend line Attainment 8 over time for Westcliff High School for Girls, Southend-on-Sea, and England. 100 80 60 40 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25

Destinations

Latest 2024/25 Year 11 destination mix compared with Southend-on-Sea and England.

Education Apprenticeships Employment Other / unknown
Destinations stacked bar comparison Year 11 destinations for Westcliff High School for Girls, Southend-on-Sea, and England across education, apprenticeships, employment, and other or unknown destinations. 0 50 100 School Local auth. England

School details

School type
Academy converter
Admissions
Girls only
Age range
11-18
Headteacher
Miss Emma Matthews
Pupil roll
1,342 pupils
Sixth form
Yes
Trust
South East Essex Academy Trust
FSM i
8.5%
EAL i
16.1%
EHCP i
0.2%

Facilities

Library

Extracurriculars

Drama Duke of Edinburgh

Ethnicity

January 2025 school census

Pupil ethnicity

Whole-school roll of 1,342 pupils; 1,333 had a recorded ethnic group.

White 36.9% Asian 40.1% Mixed 4.5% Black 16.5% Other 1.5% Unclassified 0.7%
Recorded group Share Category Pupils
White British White 449
Indian Asian 231
African Black 206
Any other Asian background Asian 112
Bangladeshi Asian 88
Pakistani Asian 80
Any other White background White 44
Chinese Asian 27
White and Asian Mixed 24
Any other mixed background Mixed 22
Any other ethnic group Other 20
Any other Black background Black 9
Unclassified Unclassified 9
White and Black Caribbean Mixed 9
Caribbean Black 5
White and Black African Mixed 5
Irish White 2

Location and contact

Address

Address
Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
Postcode
SS0 0BS

School leadership

Headteacher
Miss Emma Matthews

School contact

School phone
01702476026

Admissions contact

Admissions team
General enquiries
Admissions phone
01702476026

Admissions

Year 7 places
192 places (2027 entry)
Applications listed
882 applications (2025 entry)
First preferences
302 first preferences (2025 entry)
Competition i
High
Catchment picture
SS0 to SS9 forms the local priority area; up to 154 places are reserved for that area, including up to 15 preferential-consideration places.
Residence requirement
Yes, home address evidence is part of the published admissions checks
Pass mark note
A pass mark is set annually; CSSE offers are not made below a total standardised score of 303.

SS0 to SS9 forms the local priority area; up to 154 places are reserved for that area, including up to 15 preferential-consideration places.

Oversubscription and eligibility

  1. 1

    Looked after and previously looked after children

    Applies to candidates who pass the selection tests.

  2. 2

    SS0-SS9 local quota

    Up to 154 places are reserved for candidates living in SS0 to SS9, including up to 15 preferential-consideration places.

  3. 3

    Outside priority area

    Places remaining after the local quota include up to 4 preferential-consideration places for candidates outside SS0 to SS9.

  4. 4

    Rank order

    Within each area category, higher passing marks are allocated before lower passing marks.

Exam and test format

The CSSE 11+ entrance test format

Westcliff High School for Girls currently uses CSSE. The published format currently lists 2 papers. Published weighting: English 50% / Maths 50%. Scores are published as age-standardised.

Assessment route
CSSE
Papers and stages
2 papers
Format
Written papers
Weighting
English 50% / Maths 50%
Age standardisation
Published as age-standardised

Shared exam route

Practice for this school's entrance test

Westcliff High School for Girls uses the shared Essex (CSSE) route. Use these common practice resources for the route, then check the full consortium guide for the complete set and current test guidance.

View all Essex (CSSE) practice papers

Papers and rounds

  1. Paper 1

    English

    CSSE English paper

    Sixty-minute English paper with additional reading time.

  2. Paper 2

    Maths

    CSSE Mathematics paper

    Sixty-minute mathematics paper.

What the test includes

English and Maths are included in the published format.

Verbal reasoning, Non-verbal reasoning and Science are not listed in the current published format.

Included

  • English

  • Maths

Not listed

  • Verbal reasoning

  • Non-verbal reasoning

  • Science

Application

Key dates

  1. CSSE registration opens

    12 May 2026

    Past
  2. CSSE registration closes

    19 June 2026

  3. Special adjustments deadline

    26 June 2026

  4. CSSE 11+ tests

    19 September 2026

  5. Tuesday test day

    29 September 2026

  6. CSSE results emailed

    12 October 2026

  7. Common Application Form deadline

    31 October 2026

  8. National Offer Day

    1 March 2027

How to apply

  1. 1

    Register with CSSE

    Complete CSSE registration by 19 June 2026.

    Open CSSE guide
  2. 2

    Sit the CSSE tests

    The CSSE test has separate English and mathematics papers.

    Open CSSE guide
  3. 3

    Submit the Common Application Form

    Name Westcliff High School for Girls on the home local authority form by 31 October 2026.

    Open CSSE guide

Results

Attainment snapshot

Progress 8 i
+0.90 Progress 8
Attainment 8 i
75.6 Attainment 8
GCSE results
100% grade 4+ in English and maths
Grade 5+ English and maths i
100% grade 5+ in English and maths
EBacc average point score i
7.28 EBacc APS
A-level results
24.8% AAB or better
A-level average points
40.74 points per entry

Where students go next

Higher education progression
76% in higher education
Apprenticeships
3% in apprenticeships
Employment
9% in sustained employment

Latest official destinations data currently covers 2022/23 study leavers.

Subject performance

Maths
97.8% grade 5+ in EBacc maths
English
98.9% grade 5+ in EBacc English
Sciences
95.1% grade 5+ in EBacc sciences
Languages
91.8% grade 5+ in EBacc languages

Performance trends

Recent trend

Overall GCSE performance

This follows the school's published overall GCSE score across the subjects pupils take. Higher is better.

Westcliff High School for Girls Grammar schools England
Overall GCSE performance across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Westcliff High School for Girls, grammar schools, and England. 100 85 70 55 40 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 79.5 74.2 49.4
2022/23 78.5 71.8 47.0
2023/24 76.9 72.1 46.7
2024/25 75.6 72.3 46.8

Recent trend

Average A-level result

This follows the published average A-level result for the school's sixth form. Higher is better.

Westcliff High School for Girls Grammar schools England
Average A-level result across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Westcliff High School for Girls, grammar schools, and England. 50 pts 45 pts 40 pts 35 pts 30 pts 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 B+ average (44.8 points) 44.0 points 37.5 points
2022/23 B average (39.5 points) 40.5 points 33.7 points
2023/24 B average (41.6 points) 41.3 points 34.5 points
2024/25 B average (40.7 points) 41.8 points 35.0 points

Recent trend

Where pupils go after Year 11

This follows the share of pupils moving into a sustained destination after Year 11, such as education, apprenticeships, or employment.

Westcliff High School for Girls Grammar schools England
Where pupils go after Year 11 across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Westcliff High School for Girls, grammar schools, and England. 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 98% 99.1% 94.1%
2022/23 99% 98.9% 93.9%
2023/24 99% 99.0% 93.3%
2024/25 99% 98.7% 91.8%

Latest year breakdown

In education 99%
In apprenticeships 0%
In employment 0%

Inspection

Outstanding

Latest inspection: 7 February 2024

Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership and management
Outstanding
Sixth form provision
Outstanding

Quick summary

  • Overall effectiveness: Outstanding overall, with exemplary behaviour, strong belonging and very high aspirations running through the school. Pupils settle quickly, feel safe, contribute as leaders and role models, and benefit from ambitious teaching, broad enrichment and excellent preparation for next steps.
  • Quality of education: The curriculum has been reviewed and sequenced around recurring threads of knowledge, so pupils revisit and apply what they learn. Teachers question deeply, check gaps quickly and adapt well for SEND, helping pupils and sixth formers achieve very well.
  • Behaviour and attitudes: Behaviour and attitudes are Outstanding. Pupils show respect, high motivation and strong attendance, with only rare lapses handled well. New pupils and sixth-form entrants quickly feel part of the community and contribute positively to school life.
  • Personal development: The PSHE curriculum, assemblies and tutorials cover inclusion, equality and wider life beyond school. Pupils lead assemblies, run clubs, take on STEM and leadership roles, and use a large enrichment programme that includes debating, engineering, knitting and Duke of Edinburgh.
  • Sixth form provision: Sixth formers are well integrated and quickly develop a sense of belonging. They access a wide curriculum, leadership opportunities, visiting speakers and guidance on university, apprenticeships and employment, with many moving on to appropriate ambitious routes.

Similar schools and comparisons

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Local rivals appear first, followed by nearby alternatives where the journey and admissions route are still comparable.

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Closest comparable alternatives with a similar academic profile, so parents can weigh local fit and results together.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What assessment types does Westcliff High School for Girls use?

Westcliff High School for Girls currently uses CSSE.

How do I apply to Westcliff High School for Girls?

1. Register with CSSE: Complete CSSE registration by 19 June 2026. 2. Sit the CSSE tests: The CSSE test has separate English and mathematics papers. 3. Submit the Common Application Form: Name Westcliff High School for Girls on the home local authority form by 31 October 2026.

When are the key dates for Westcliff High School for Girls?

CSSE registration opens: 12 May 2026. CSSE registration closes: 19 June 2026. Special adjustments deadline: 26 June 2026. CSSE 11+ tests: 19 September 2026. Tuesday test day: 29 September 2026. CSSE results emailed: 12 October 2026. Common Application Form deadline: 31 October 2026. National Offer Day: 1 March 2027

What does the latest Ofsted picture look like for Westcliff High School for Girls?

Westcliff High School for Girls is currently rated Outstanding following the latest published inspection dated 7 February 2024.