Southend schools news
Southend schools news, newest first: Ofsted reports, admissions, term dates and school achievements.
Top story
Southend SEND Strategy: Have Your Say by 30 November
Parents of children with SEND can comment on Southend's new strategy until 30 November, online or at five drop-ins. A new three-year action plan sets no numerical targets.
More stories
Schools
Leigh North Street School Pool: Council Cannot Step In
Only the school's governors can reopen the pool, the council tells the 2,547-name petition, and it will not fund it. Cabinet notes the reply on 16 November.
Schools
Southend Early Years Results: 74.8%, Best in the East
Official figures put Southend at 74.8% of Reception children reaching a good level of development, top of 11 East of England councils and above England's 72.3%.
Schools
Southend Grammar Places: Six Offers Withdrawn Over Address
Six grammar school offers for this September were withdrawn after the council found the families did not live locally. Most were at WHSB and SHSB.
Schools
Southend Early Years: Record 74.9% Reach a Good Level
74.9% of Southend's Reception children reached a good level of development in 2025/26, up from 68.4% a year earlier and 65.5% the year before. That is 0.2 points short of the council's 2028 target.
Education
Southend SEND Inspection: Same Verdict as Three Years Ago
Ofsted and the CQC gave Southend's SEND partnership the same verdict as 2023: inconsistent outcomes. Children still wait too long for assessments.
Education
Southend GCSE Results 2026: SHSG 72% at Grades 9 to 7
Southend High School for Girls published 72% of grades at 9 to 7 and 20% at grade 9, while the East of England slipped on both headline measures.
Education
Southend GCSE Results Day: 20 August, Times by School
GCSE results land on Thursday 20 August. Westcliff Boys opens at 8am, Southend Boys 8.30am, Southend Girls 9am, and the sixth form entry bars are published.
Education
Southend High School for Girls A Levels: Half A* or A
Southend High School for Girls says half its A level grades were A* or A this year, its best ever. The national figure was 28.3%, and 43.4% at grammar schools.
Schools
Southend School Term Dates 2026/27: Half Term 26 October
Southend school term dates for 2026/27, from Christmas to the 21 July finish, plus Cecil Jones, SHSG, WHSG and WHSB dates and their INSET days.
Half term
Southend October Half Term 2026: 26 to 30 October
Southend's October half term is 26 to 30 October 2026. Seafront fireworks on both Saturdays, a circus in Chalkwell Park, pumpkin patches and Halloween events.