Which school has the best GCSE results in Southend-on-Sea?

On 2026 Attainment 8, Westcliff High School for Boys Academy tops the table in Southend-on-Sea with 77.2, against an England average of 46.2. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

When are the 2026 GCSE results for Southend-on-Sea schools published?

Pupils receive their results in August, but school-by-school figures come from the DfE performance tables, which publish provisional results in the autumn (usually mid-October) and revised figures early in the new year. This table shows 2026 results, the 2025/26 academic year, and updates when the next release is imported.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021.

Why does a school in Southend-on-Sea show no GCSE results?

A school has no published figure when it had no Year 11 cohort in the year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Southend-on-Sea GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

12 state secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea ranked on their 2026 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2025/26 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 7+, grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, cohort size for each school against the England average. 1 independent school with published results is listed separately, unranked.

Local Authority 12 state secondary schools 2025/26 results

Secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea ranked on Attainment 8

12 of 12 schools have published 2026 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2025/26.

Secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea ranked on Attainment 8, 2026 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 7+ English & maths	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.2	14%	46%	65%	–	–
1	Westcliff High School for Boys Academy Westcliff-on-Sea · Academy converter	77.2	70%	99%	100%	–	174
2 , up 2 places since 2025	Southend High School for Boys Southend-on-Sea · Academy converter	75.1	64%	98%	100%	–	179
3	Southend High School for Girls Southend-on-Sea · Academy converter	74.7	61%	99%	100%	–	177
4 , down 2 places since 2025	Westcliff High School for Girls Westcliff-on-Sea · Academy converter	73.8	70%	96%	97%	–	185
5 , up 1 place since 2025	St Thomas More High School Westcliff-on-Sea · Academy converter	52.9	19%	57%	79%	–	180
6 , down 1 place since 2025	St Bernard's High School Westcliff-on-Sea · Academy converter	51.5	12%	52%	74%	–	170
7	The Eastwood Academy Leigh-on-Sea · Academy converter	51.2	13%	52%	78%	–	222
8	Belfairs Academy Leigh-on-Sea · Academy converter	45.9	7%	40%	72%	–	291
9 , up 1 place since 2025	Southchurch High School Southend-on-Sea · Academy sponsor led	44.5	3%	40%	65%	–	147
10 , up 1 place since 2025	Shoeburyness High School Southend-on-Sea · Academy converter	38.9	5%	33%	53%	–	303
11 , down 2 places since 2025	Chase High School Westcliff-on-Sea · Academy sponsor led	38.5	8%	27%	51%	–	220
12	Cecil Jones Academy Southend-on-Sea · Academy sponsor led	35.4	1%	18%	41%	–	213

Under each rank: the change since the 2025 table, in places gained (+) or lost (−). No figure means the rank is unchanged or the school had no ranked 2025 result.

Independent schools in Southend-on-Sea with published GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
Thorpe Hall School Other independent school	49.7	58%	62

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2026 was 46.2.

Grade 7+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching the top grades, 7 to 9, in both; grade 5+ is the "strong pass"; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". The DfE stopped publishing EBacc entry and the EBacc average point score from the 2025/26 results, so that column is empty for 2026.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021, the baseline it is measured from. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

See the best secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea on our composite score

Southend-on-Sea GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Southend-on-Sea with published GCSE results

More about schools in Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea GCSE results: common questions