Westcliff High School for Girls, Westcliff-on-Sea

In 2026, pupils at Westcliff High School for Girls averaged an Attainment 8 score of 73.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 55 in Southend-on-Sea and 47 across England.

96% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 59% in Southend-on-Sea and 47% in England.

That is down from 75.6 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.9: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 70.3, against 74.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Chemistry and Biology.

Westcliff High School for Girls is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 239 families put Westcliff High School for Girls as their first choice and 856 named it as one of their preferences, for 185 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 79 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Westcliff High School for Girls admits pupils through an entrance test - in Southend-on-Sea, the CSSE (Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex) test. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Westcliff High School for Girls ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Southend-on-Sea's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Southend-on-Sea has 4 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Westcliff High School for Girls are Westcliff High School for Boys Academy (under 0.1 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 77.2); St Thomas More High School (0.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52.9); The Eastwood Academy (0.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 51.2); and Chase High School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.5).

Westcliff High School for Girls's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Westcliff High School for Girls is one of 9 schools run by South East Essex Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 172 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 100% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 4% to a further education college.

Of the 182 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 75% went on to university or other higher education, 8% to apprenticeships and 10% into work. 43% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

8.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 74 pupils (5.5%) received SEN support and 6 (0.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.

The nearest railway station is Chalkwell Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Middlesex Avenue (n-bound), 120 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Westcliff High School for Girls stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Westcliff High School for Girls issued 30 suspensions, 2.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Westcliff High School for Girls are Darlinghurst Academy (0.2 miles), Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles), Blenheim Primary School (0.4 miles) and Chalkwell Hall Infant School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.