Southend-on-Sea, Essex
11+ Tutoring in Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is the strongest position in this part of Essex for the 11+, and that is exactly why the competition here is what it is. The city contains two fully selective grammar schools — Southend High School for Boys and Southend High School for Girls — plus a partially selective route at Shoeburyness High School, and every postcode inside the city falls within the SS0 to SS9 band that receives preferential consideration. A Southend family is therefore in the best-placed pool at every one of these schools without having to do anything about geography at all. The consequence is that the genuinely competitive question in Southend is never catchment and always the CSSE score itself. Preparation here has to be aimed at a standard set by other well-supported local children, not at the general qualifying mark, and that is the distinction we build a plan around.
Schools Southend-on-Sea families apply to
Shoeburyness High School
Partially selective — a capped number of places for CSSE scores at or above 303 from within the school’s priority area, with a borderline allowance below that if any go unfilled
Overall admission number 310 for 2027, of which up to 28 are reserved for the selective criterion. In practice for the 2026 intake only 6 pupils were admitted on the full selective criterion and 7 more on the borderline one — well under the cap.
Southend High School for Girls (SHSG)
CSSE consortium test, sat in September of Year 6
Admission number 224 for 2027, the largest of the four Southend and Westcliff grammar schools. Southend postcodes fall inside the SS0 to SS9 priority band.
Key dates for September 2027 entry
Registration 12 May to 19 June 2026. Test sat Saturday 19 September 2026, reserve date Tuesday 29 September 2026. Results emailed 12 October 2026. Southend City Council’s application window ran 1 September to 31 October 2026.
Dates and admission numbers change every year. Always confirm against the school’s own admissions page before you plan around them.
The Shoeburyness route is the one most often overlooked in Southend. Its selective allocation is capped at 28 places, but in recent years far fewer children have actually been admitted that way — 13 in total across the full and borderline criteria for the 2026 intake. For a child who sits the CSSE and scores respectably without reaching a grammar offer, it is a real and under-used second option rather than a theoretical one.
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Questions Southend-on-Sea parents ask
How many grammar school places are there in Southend?
For September 2027 entry the published admission numbers are 180 at Southend High School for Boys and 224 at Southend High School for Girls, plus up to 28 selective places within Shoeburyness High School’s overall intake of 310.
What happens if my child just misses the grammar school mark?
Shoeburyness High School admits a capped number of pupils on a CSSE score at or above 303 from within its priority area, and operates a borderline allowance below that if those places are not filled. It is worth naming on the application form rather than treating the grammar schools as the only outcome.
Does every Southend address get priority?
Every postcode inside the city falls within the SS0 to SS9 range that the four grammar schools use for preferential consideration, so geography is not the deciding factor for a Southend family. The CSSE score is.
When do we apply, and to whom?
To Southend City Council, whose online application window ran from 1 September to 31 October 2026 for September 2027 entry. Sitting the test does not apply for a place — the school has to be named on that form. Offers are made on 1 March 2027.