Area guide · England

CSSE (Essex and Southend): how it works and its 8 schools

Unverified: the dates and scores on this page come from desk research of council, school and test organiser pages (medium confidence), and each links to its source. Admissions rules change every year: confirm them with your council and the school before you rely on them.

Key dates for September 2027 entry

Register for the test: 12 May 2026 to 19 June 2026
Test dates: 19 September 2026, 29 September 2026
Results sent to families: 12 October 2026
Apply to your council: By 31 October 2026 (September 2027 entry). Passing the test is not an application: you must also name the school on your council's application form. This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
National offer day: 1 March 2027

Main test 19 Sep; reserve Tuesday sitting 29 Sep for religious, illness or exceptional circumstances only. Late forms not accepted. Results emailed after close of business on 12 Oct.

Sources: csse.org.uk, leadingtuition.co.uk. Statutory dates: School Admissions Code.

Schools

School	Gender	First choices per place	Qualifying score	Latest published offer data	Children from outside the catchment
Chelmsford County High School for Girls Chelmsford	Girls	2.0 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry Inside catchment: lowest score offered 106 Outside catchment: lowest score offered 118 Caveats on the school page	Yes Remaining places (up to 36) allocated in descending score order irrespective of where applicants live.
Colchester County High School for Girls Colchester	Girls	1.7 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry Inside priority area: lowest score offered 326 Outside priority area: lowest score offered 332 Caveats on the school page	Yes For September 2027 entry, the last 38 of the 192 places go in score order to the highest-scoring girls wherever they live. In 2026 the last such place went at 332 (326 inside the priority area).
Colchester Royal Grammar School Colchester	Boys	2.2 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry lowest score offered 346 Caveats on the school page	Yes There is no catchment, so where a boy lives does not matter. Up to 12 places go first to looked-after or previously looked-after boys and boys eligible for pupil premium who score above 320; all other places go to the highest scorers who name the school.
King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford Chelmsford	Boys	2.8 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry Inside priority area: lowest score offered 353 Outside priority area: lowest score offered 370 Caveats on the school page	Yes After the 120 priority-area places, the remaining places (about 30) go to the highest-scoring boys wherever they live. Up to 2 of these go to boys eligible for pupil premium or looked-after boys who score at least 350. Boys outside the area need a much higher score than local boys.
Southend High School for Boys Southend-on-Sea	Boys	1.7 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry Inside priority area: lowest score offered 310 Outside priority area: lowest score offered 346 Caveats on the school page	Yes After children living in SS0-SS9, remaining places go to children from outside the area in score order, and they need a higher score. Children from outside the catchment offered places on national offer day: 27 in 2026, 27 in 2025, 51 in 2024, 36 in 2023, 55 in 2022. Children eligible for extra priority (such as pupil premium) come first within each group.
Southend High School for Girls Southend-on-Sea	Girls	1.2 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry Inside priority area: lowest score offered 303 Outside priority area: lowest score offered 318 Caveats on the school page	Yes After children living in SS0-SS9, remaining places go to children from outside the area in score order, and they need a higher score. Children from outside the catchment offered places on national offer day: 110 in 2026, 99 in 2025, 82 in 2024, 74 in 2023, 102 in 2022. Children eligible for extra priority (such as pupil premium) come first within each group.
Westcliff High School for Boys Academy Westcliff-on-Sea	Boys	1.5 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry Inside priority area: lowest score offered 314 Outside priority area: lowest score offered 352 Caveats on the school page	Yes After children living in SS0-SS9, remaining places go to children from outside the area in score order, and they need a higher score. Children from outside the catchment offered places on national offer day: 33 in 2026, 34 in 2025, 51 in 2024, 46 in 2023, 33 in 2022. Children eligible for extra priority (such as pupil premium) come first within each group.
Westcliff High School for Girls Westcliff-on-Sea	Girls	1.3 (2026)	–	Sept 2026 entry Inside priority area: lowest score offered 303 Outside priority area: lowest score offered 332 Caveats on the school page	Yes After children living in SS0-SS9, remaining places go to children from outside the area in score order, and they need a higher score. Children from outside the catchment offered places on national offer day: 65 in 2026, 32 in 2025, 50 in 2024, 56 in 2023, 58 in 2022. Children eligible for extra priority (such as pupil premium) come first within each group.

A qualifying score makes a child eligible; places then go by each school's oversubscription rules (often distance, catchment or score order), so the lowest score offered can be well above it. Offer data shows the last child offered a place in each group in that intake; it does not mean every child at that score or distance got a place. First choices per place: DfE applications and offers (official), latest intake. Qualifying scores, offer data and catchment rules: research, with sources and caveats on each school's page. "–" means not yet available.