England · Grammar school
Westcliff High School for Girls
Westcliff-on-Sea · Girls only · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 136490)
Overview
- Address
- Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 0BS
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Girls only
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,354
- Capacity
- 1,224
- Eligible for free school meals
- 8.4%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Academy converter
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- SOUTH EAST ESSEX ACADEMY TRUST
- Local authority
- Southend-on-Sea
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (get-information-schools.service.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Fully selective area32% of Year 7 places offered in Southend-on-Sea for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- CSSE
- Qualifying score
- Not yet available
- Catchment area
- Priority (catchment) area: home postcode districts SS0 to SS9. Children must pass the CSSE 11+ test.Postcode areas: SS0, SS1, SS2, SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, SS7, SS8, SS9
- Children from outside the catchment
- 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.
Past offers: lowest score and furthest distance
| Intake | Applicant group | Lowest score offered | Last distance offered | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | inside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2026) for September 2026 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. 303 is the minimum score, so every qualifying applicant in the area was offered. | 303 | – | csse.org.uk |
| outside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2026) for September 2026 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. | 332 | – | csse.org.uk | |
| Sept 2025 | inside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2025) for September 2025 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. | 306 | – | csse.org.uk |
| outside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2025) for September 2025 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. | 345 | – | csse.org.uk | |
| Sept 2024 | inside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2024) for September 2024 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. 303 is the minimum score, so every qualifying applicant in the area was offered. | 303 | – | csse.org.uk |
| outside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2024) for September 2024 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. | 347 | – | csse.org.uk | |
| Sept 2023 | inside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2023) for September 2023 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. 303 is the minimum score, so every qualifying applicant in the area was offered. | 303 | – | csse.org.uk |
| outside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2023) for September 2023 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. | 342 | – | csse.org.uk | |
| Sept 2022 | inside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2022) for September 2022 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. 303 is the minimum score, so every qualifying applicant in the area was offered. | 303 | – | csse.org.uk |
| outside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2022) for September 2022 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. | 327 | – | csse.org.uk | |
| Sept 2021 | inside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2021) for September 2021 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. 303 is the minimum score, so every qualifying applicant in the area was offered. | 303 | – | csse.org.uk |
| outside priority areaScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2021) for September 2021 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. | 344 | – | csse.org.uk |
From published allocation data found in desk research (checked 1 November 2026); not yet confirmed with the school. Scores from different tests or years are not comparable, and a past cut-off does not guarantee a future place.
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 856 applicants named this school (239 as their first choice) for 185 places. 100 of 185 offers went to children living outside Southend-on-Sea.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Southend-on-Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 185 | 856 | 239 | 1.3 | 100 |
| Sept 2025 | 178 | 882 | 302 | 1.7 | 69 |
| Sept 2024 | 160 | 873 | 262 | 1.6 | 65 |
| Sept 2023 | 167 | 891 | 228 | 1.4 | 74 |
| Sept 2022 | 182 | 832 | 237 | 1.3 | 88 |
Show all 13 years
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Southend-on-Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2021 | 183 | 1,331 | 466 | 2.5 | 87 |
| Sept 2020 | 152 | 966 | 266 | 1.8 | 57 |
| Sept 2019 | 177 | 1,060 | 313 | 1.8 | 83 |
| Sept 2018 | 183 | 923 | 278 | 1.5 | 119 |
| Sept 2017 | 180 | 884 | 230 | 1.3 | 116 |
| Sept 2016 | 178 | 829 | 215 | 1.2 | 119 |
| Sept 2015 | 181 | 732 | 224 | 1.2 | 125 |
| Sept 2014 | 146 | 676 | 178 | 1.2 | 102 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Southend-on-Sea" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (atomlearning.com, southend.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates for September 2027 entry
- Test registration (CSSE (Essex and Southend))
- 12 May 2026 to 19 June 2026
- Test date
- 19 September 2026, 29 September 2026Main 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.
- Results sent to families
- 12 October 2026
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- 1 March 2011
Unverified: test dates come from desk research (medium confidence). Confirm them with the council or test organiser. Sources: csse.org.uk, leadingtuition.co.uk.
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Guide to the CSSE (Essex and Southend) and its schools · How applying works
Source: Test dates research (cited public sources) (csse.org.uk), last checked 1 November 2026 · Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 6 February 2024: overall Outstanding. Read the report ↗
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form provision
- Outstanding
Inspection history (2)
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 73.8 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 96.2% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 70.3% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 97.3% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 76.9 (2023/24) → 75.6 (2024/25) → 73.8 (2025/26).
185 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- SS0 0BS
- Map location
- 51.5524, 0.6677
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01702476026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- www.whsg.info
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 136490) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026