Academy converter

Westcliff High School for Boys Academy

Boys · ages 11–18 · with sixth form · selective (grammar)Southend-on-Sea, East of England · Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 0BPTrust: Westcliff High School For Boys LimitedSchool website
Pupils on roll
1,309of 1,300 places
Free school meals
5.2%
Year 11 cohort 2025
177
Ofsted
Outstanding, 21 November 2023Read the Ofsted report

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Westcliff High School for Boys (URN 115317, until 1 September 2010).

What the data says

Of the 180 pupils who finished Year 11 at Westcliff High School for Boys Academy in 2023, 97% stayed on in Westcliff High School for Boys Academy’s own sixth form (Southend-on-Sea average 58%), 1% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

Among the 183 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 70% went to university (Southend-on-Sea 32%, England 37%), and 64% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.

GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 77.6 against 46.1 across England and 52.2 in Southend-on-Sea, with 98% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%) — as a selective grammar school, Westcliff High School for Boys Academy admits pupils by test at 11, which drives these figures.

German is unusually popular at GCSE: 49% of the year group took it, against 5% of pupils across England.

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Southend-on-Sea and England.

This school
Southend-on-Sea
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureThis schoolSouthend-on-SeaEngland
Pupils in the cohort1802,303607,348
Any sustained destination99%94%92%
Stayed in education99%91%86%
— school sixth form97%58%34%
— sixth form college0%13%
— further education college1%30%37%
— other education1%2%2%
Apprenticeship0%2%3%
Employment0%2%3%
No sustained destination1%4%6%
Destination unknown0%2%3%

Where students went after sixth form

Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.

This school
Southend-on-Sea
England
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureThis schoolSouthend-on-SeaEngland
Students in the cohort1833,676541,441
Any sustained destination88%75%79%
University (higher education)70%32%37%
— most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students64%19%19%
Further education1%4%5%
Apprenticeship5%7%7%
Employment12%32%28%
No sustained destination6%19%16%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureThis schoolSouthend-on-SeaEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)77.652.246.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths98%57%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths100%71%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects94%50%41%
EBacc average point score7.534.644.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort10%22%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils72.035.734.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils78.256.850.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language14%13%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
Physics177100%23%80%46%99%
Biology177100%23%81%45%99%
Chemistry177100%23%81%47%99%
English Language177100%89%68%20%99%
English Literature177100%86%71%21%100%
Mathematics177100%88%84%22%100%
Geography11364%41%78%25%98%
Economics10559%1%61%34%96%
History10559%41%75%26%99%
German8749%5%66%33%99%
Religious Studies8548%31%73%32%98%
Spanish7844%19%65%27%96%
Design and Technology6034%11%88%23%100%
Computer Science5531%13%78%30%100%
French4626%18%74%29%98%
Physical Education3721%11%78%24%100%
Music3520%5%83%33%100%
Fine Art3319%9%73%28%100%
Geology2414%0%83%61%100%
Chinese21%1%75%
Russian11%0%87%
Bengali11%0%35%

A levels and other level 3 courses

MeasureThis schoolSouthend-on-SeaEngland
Students at the end of 16–18 study376
— of whom A level students1951,263261,341
Average A level gradeB+B-B-
Average points per A level entry43.2737.7135.00
Average grade, best 3 A levelsB+BB-
AAB or better with two facilitating subjects42%22%18%
Average grade, applied general courses
Average grade, T levels

A level subjects

Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Mathematics14876%31%
Economics8443%13%
Chemistry6734%17%
Biology5227%20%
Further Mathematics5026%5%
Physics3819%12%
Computer Science3116%5%
Psychology2915%23%
History2412%13%
Politics2312%6%
Geography179%10%
English Literature137%11%
Geology126%0%
Spanish105%2%
Religious Studies105%4%
Music105%0%
Product Design95%2%
Physical Education84%3%
Fine Art74%3%
French63%1%
German63%0%
Polish0%

Applied, technical and other level 3 courses

SubjectQualificationEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Study SkillsExtended Project (Diploma)2814%
Further MathematicsGCE AS level (All)
Further MathematicsGCE AS level (Not continued to A2)

Where Westcliff High School for Boys Academy is

Other secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Southend-on-Sea’s allocation statistics.

Other secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea

Belfairs Academy

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,558 pupils

85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5

Cecil Jones Academy

Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,159 pupils

79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.1

Chase High School

Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,293 pupils

83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.2

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.