Best Schools in Southend-on-Sea

How many schools are there in Southend-on-Sea?

Southend-on-Sea has 32 open schools: 17 state primary, 7 state secondary or all-through, 3 independent, 4 special and 1 other.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Southend-on-Sea are rated Outstanding?

2 schools in Southend-on-Sea were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Southend High School for Girls and Southend High School for Boys. Counting Good as well, 93% of the 29 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Southend High School for GirlsSouthend High School for Boys

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea get the best GCSE results?

Of the 7 schools in Southend-on-Sea with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Southend High School for Boys (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 75.1 and 98% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Southend High School for Girls (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 74.7 and 99% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Southchurch High School, with an Attainment 8 score of 44.5 and 40% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Southend High School for BoysSouthend High School for GirlsSouthchurch High School

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Southend-on-Sea have the best SATs results?

Of the 15 primary schools in Southend-on-Sea with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Hinguar Community Primary School (93% in reading, 90% in maths); Bournes Green Junior School (89% in reading, 86% in maths); and St George's Catholic Primary School (84% in reading, 81% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Hinguar Community Primary SchoolBournes Green Junior SchoolSt George's Catholic Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Southend-on-Sea?

Yes. Southend High School for Boys and Southend High School for Girls are state grammar schools in Southend-on-Sea. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Southend High School for BoysSouthend High School for Girls

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Southend-on-Sea have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Southend-on-Sea have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Southend-on-Sea?

Apply to your council - Southend-on-Sea or Essex, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.