Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex · Southend-on-Sea

Westcliff High School for Boys

One of the more accessible CSSE schools for local boys, but its out-of-catchment cutoff is the second-highest in the whole consortium.

Westcliff Boys shares the CSSE consortium's test with other Essex and Southend selective schools. FOI-disclosed data across all CSSE schools shows a striking split here: its in-catchment cutoff (313-314 for the most recent cycle) is one of the lower thresholds in the consortium, well below Colchester County High for Girls or King Edward VI Grammar — but its out-of-catchment cutoff (351-352) is the second-highest of any CSSE school, behind only King Edward VI Grammar. For a Southend-area boy this behaves like an accessible local grammar school; for anyone applying from outside the catchment, it's one of the toughest.

Key facts

Gender: boys
Age range: 11-18
Region: East of England
Local authority: Southend-on-Sea
DfE URN: 136272
Website: https://www.whsb.essex.sch.uk

Admissions

Admissions authority: The school sets its own test and criteria
Entrance test board: The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE), a voluntary association of Essex/Southend selective schools formed in 1993. CSSE's own guides describe ten member schools for the September 2025 entry cycle and nine for September 2026 entry — consistent with a membership change between those two cycles, possibly involving Chelmsford County High School for Girls now running a separate test, though that specific explanation isn't confirmed directly by CSSE.sources conflict
CSSE's own guides show ten member schools for September 2025 entry and nine for September 2026 entry — likely a genuine membership change rather than an error, but not confirmed directly by CSSE.
Test format: Two papers: English (60 minutes plus 10 minutes' extra reading time) and Mathematics (60 minutes), both KS2-curriculum-based with no verbal or non-verbal reasoning, each weighted 50% and age-adjusted.
Qualifying / pass mark: No fixed pass mark beyond the CSSE-wide floor of 303. The Published Admission Number is 185. FOI-disclosed last-place-offered scores: for September 2026 entry, 313-314 in-catchment and 351-352 out-of-catchment; for September 2025 entry, 309-310 in-catchment and just above 351 out-of-catchment. CSSE states these are ranges, not exact figures, since precise scores would be personal data.
Superselective?: Not established

Catchment & priority criteria

Postcode areas SS0 through SS9, covering Westcliff, Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea, Rochford, Hockley, Rayleigh, Benfleet and Canvey Island. Up to 80% of the 185-place admission number (148 places) is reserved for catchment residents who pass the test; the remainder (up to 37 places) is open to everyone else.

Looked-after and previously looked-after children who passed the test
In-catchment applicants who passed: up to 15 places first to Free School Meals/Pupil Premium-eligible applicants by rank order, then remaining catchment places by rank order
Out-of-catchment applicants who passed: up to 4 places first to Free School Meals/Pupil Premium-eligible applicants by rank order, then remaining places by rank order
Tie-break for the final place: preferential-consideration status, then distance to school, then random allocation

Results

Year	Attainment 8	GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths	Progress 8	A*–A	A*–B
2024	77.3 (Southend-on-Sea average 51.3, England average 45.9)	98.3% (100.0% at grade 4+)	+0.93 ('well above average') — the last cohort DfE could calculate this for; the figure will continue to appear as 'latest available' in later tables since no new calculation is possible for 2025 or 2026 cohorts.	56%	83%
A-level (year inferred from context, not stated on the school's own page): 56% grades A/A including 21% A, 83% grades A*-B. DfE separately measured 47.4% achieving AAB+ with facilitating subjects (top 20% of schools nationally), 99.4% retention.
2025	77.6 (Southend-on-Sea average 52.2, England average 46.1) — the school's own site separately states 77.4 for the same year, a small discrepancy not resolved here	97.7% (100.0% at grade 4+; school's own site states 98%)	Not calculated by DfE — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally	~50%	78%
A-level: average grade B+ (43.27 points/entry, England average B-/36.1). DfE's separate A-level progress score was 'below average' (-0.19), which at a school with this GCSE profile typically reflects how demanding the comparison baseline is, not weak teaching.

Ofsted

Rating: Outstanding
Date: 21-22 November 2023
Report: Read the full report

Sources

1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/136272
2. School's own current determined admissions arrangements — https://www.whsb.essex.sch.uk/_site/data/files/7BF7023B100A47E18B918F009CFDDB86.pdf
3. CSSE Information Guide, 2025 entry (ten member schools, 303 floor, PAN 185) — https://csse.org.uk/storage/2024/03/For-Publication-Information-Guide-2025-Entry.pdf
4. CSSE FOI response — last-place-offered scores, September 2025 entry — https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/scores_of_last_selective_place_o
5. CSSE FOI response — last-place-offered scores, September 2026 entry — https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/scores_of_last_selective_place_o_2
6. Ofsted report, inspected 21-22 November 2023 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50237453
7. DfE Compare School Performance — 2025 GCSE results — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/136272/westcliff-high-school-for-boys-academy/secondary
8. DfE Compare School Performance — 2025 A-level results — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/136272/westcliff-high-school-for-boys-academy/16-to-18/advanced-level-qualifications
9. School's own school performance summary page — https://www.whsb.essex.sch.uk/key-information/ofsted-and-school-performance

Last updated 2026-08-30. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.