Belfairs Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,558 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5
Academy converter
Westcliff High School for Girls
- Pupils on roll
- 1,354of 1,224 places
- Free school meals
- 8.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 184
- Ofsted
- Outstanding, 6 February 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Westcliff High School for Girls (URN 115339, until 1 March 2011).
What the data says
Of the 184 pupils who finished Year 11 at Westcliff High School for Girls in 2023, 97% stayed on in Westcliff High School for Girls’ own sixth form (Southend-on-Sea average 58%), 2% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Among the 237 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 76% went to university (Southend-on-Sea 32%, England 37%), and 54% 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 75.6 against 46.1 across England and 52.2 in Southend-on-Sea, with 97% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%) — as a selective grammar school, Westcliff High School for Girls admits pupils by test at 11, which drives these figures.
Chemistry is unusually popular at GCSE: 92% of the year group took it, against 23% 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.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Southend-on-Sea | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 184 | 2,303 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 99% | 94% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 99% | 91% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 97% | 58% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 2% | 30% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 0% | 4% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 2% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Southend-on-Sea | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 237 | 3,676 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 91% | 75% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 76% | 32% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 54% | 19% | 19% |
| Further education | 2% | 4% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 7% | 7% |
| Employment | 9% | 32% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 19% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Southend-on-Sea | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 75.6 | 52.2 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 97% | 57% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 71% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 92% | 50% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 7.28 | 4.64 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 7% | 22% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 71.8 | 35.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 75.9 | 56.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 16% | 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.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 184 | 100% | 89% | 75% | 20% | 99% |
| Mathematics | 184 | 100% | 88% | 71% | 22% | 100% |
| English Literature | 184 | 100% | 86% | 79% | 21% | 99% |
| Religious Studies | 182 | 99% | 31% | 79% | 32% | 98% |
| Biology | 169 | 92% | 23% | 67% | 45% | 100% |
| Physics | 169 | 92% | 23% | 60% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 169 | 92% | 23% | 68% | 47% | 100% |
| Spanish | 112 | 61% | 19% | 65% | 27% | 97% |
| History | 109 | 59% | 41% | 87% | 26% | 99% |
| Geography | 96 | 52% | 41% | 89% | 25% | 100% |
| Business Studies | 96 | 52% | 18% | 73% | 20% | 99% |
| French | 61 | 33% | 18% | 67% | 29% | 95% |
| Fine Art | 41 | 22% | 9% | 68% | 28% | 100% |
| Computer Science | 40 | 22% | 13% | 65% | 30% | 95% |
| Applied Engineering | 34 | 18% | 0% | 24% | 18% | 97% |
| Drama | 29 | 16% | 7% | 90% | 27% | 100% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 26 | 14% | 8% | 85% | 21% | 100% |
| Music | 22 | 12% | 5% | 59% | 33% | 95% |
| Physical Education | 21 | 11% | 11% | 71% | 24% | 100% |
| Design and Technology | 17 | 9% | 11% | 65% | 23% | 94% |
| Art and Design | 15 | 8% | 7% | 53% | 24% | 87% |
| Combined Science | 15 | 8% | 65% | 7% | 9% | 100% |
| Bengali | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 35% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Southend-on-Sea | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 425 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 206 | 1,263 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B | B- | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 40.74 | 37.71 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B | B | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 25% | 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.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 115 | 56% | 31% |
| Chemistry | 73 | 35% | 17% |
| Biology | 64 | 31% | 20% |
| Psychology | 51 | 25% | 23% |
| History | 36 | 17% | 13% |
| Physics | 32 | 16% | 12% |
| English Literature | 29 | 14% | 11% |
| Politics | 27 | 13% | 6% |
| Economics | 25 | 12% | 13% |
| Computer Science | 24 | 12% | 5% |
| Sociology | 22 | 11% | 13% |
| Geography | 21 | 10% | 10% |
| Religious Studies | 20 | 10% | 4% |
| Further Mathematics | 19 | 9% | 5% |
| Fine Art | 19 | 9% | 3% |
| Business Studies | 18 | 9% | 13% |
| Law | 12 | 6% | 4% |
| D and T Engineering | 11 | 5% | 0% |
| Drama | 10 | 5% | 2% |
| French | 9 | 4% | 1% |
| Spanish | 8 | 4% | 2% |
| English Language and Literature | 7 | 3% | 2% |
| Art and Design | 6 | 3% | 1% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Product Design | — | — | 2% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 107 | 52% | — |
| Music Technology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Music | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Music Technology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Music | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea
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Chase High School
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Shoeburyness High School
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Southchurch High School
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Southend High School for Boys
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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.