Southend High School for Girls vs Westcliff High School for Girls

Both are grammar schools in Southend-on-Sea, 3.4 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

	Southend High School for Girls	Westcliff High School for Girls
Phase	Secondary	Secondary
Gender	Girls	Girls
Pupils on roll	1,312	1,354
Free school meals	9.1%	8.4%
Ofsted rating	Outstanding	Outstanding
Attainment 8 — 2025/26	74.7	73.8
11+ test board	GL Assessment	GL Assessment
Admission system	qualifying score is the minimum; places then go in score order (distance only breaks ties)	qualifying score is the minimum; places then go in score order (distance only breaks ties)
Places offered — 202627	217	185
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place	1.25	1.29

Qualifying scores

Southend High School for Girls

303 (2025 entry)

Lowest score inside priority area on National Offer Day. Outside area cutoff: 321. CSSE test.

Council source ↗

Westcliff High School for Girls

306 (2025 entry)

Lowest score inside priority area on National Offer Day. Outside area cutoff: 345. CSSE test.

Council source ↗

Who gets priority

Where a school is oversubscribed, these are the first criteria applied, in order. This is usually what decides an application.

Southend High School for Girls

Looked after and previously looked after children who pass the CSSE selection tests
Children living in the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass and are entitled to 'preferential consideration' (free school meals or pupil premium, declared when registering for the test) — up to 17 places, in…
Other children living in the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass — in score order, up to 179 places for the area in all
Children living outside the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass and are entitled to 'preferential consideration' — up to 4 places, in score order
Other children living outside the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass — in score order, for the remaining places

Source: school admissions policy.

Westcliff High School for Girls

Looked after and previously looked after children who pass the CSSE selection tests
Children living in the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass and are entitled to 'preferential consideration' (free school meals or pupil premium, declared when registering for the test) — up to 15 places, in…
Other children living in the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass — in score order, up to 154 places for the area in all
Children living outside the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass and are entitled to 'preferential consideration' — up to 4 places, in score order
Other children living outside the SS0–SS9 postcodes who pass — in score order, for the remaining places

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Both schools admit girls, so the decision usually comes down to the admission criteria above and how far each one reaches. The figures on this page are the published ones — they describe intakes and results, not what either school would be like for your child. The right choice depends on your family's own priorities and circumstances.

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