Shoeburyness High School

About Shoeburyness High School

Shoeburyness High School is a large secondary school in Southend-on-Sea, running close to its capacity of 1,770 pupils with 1,747 on roll. The school serves a community with significant economic disadvantage: 36.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. Demand for places is high — for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 641 applications for 292 places, an oversubscription ratio of 2.2, with 228 first-preference offers made. This suggests a school that is firmly embedded in its local area and draws families who actively choose it. The school is mixed, non-denominational, and has a sixth form, making it a straightforward option for families looking for a single secondary school from Year 7 through to 18. The headteacher is Teri-Leigh Jones, who leads a Good-rated school following its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2024.

Academically, the picture is more mixed. At Key Stage 4, the school’s Progress 8 score is -0.89, which is well below the national average and significantly behind the Southend-on-Sea local authority average of +0.12. This places Shoeburyness 10th out of 10 secondary schools in the LA, and in the bottom 5% nationally. Attainment 8 sits at 36.9, and the basics measure — pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths — stands at 30.3%. Only 11% of pupils entered the EBacc, and 4% achieved it. At A-level, the picture is similarly below average: the value added score is -0.42, with an average points per entry of 27.54, equivalent to a grade C-. The sixth form was rated Good in the 2024 inspection, and 115 pupils took A-levels in the 2023/24 academic year. For families prioritising academic outcomes, the data shows this school is not among the strongest in the area.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a theatre, music rooms, astro turf, sports hall, and a sixth form centre. Sports provision is extensive, with football, rugby, cricket, swimming, athletics, and dance among the options, and there are clubs covering drama, choir, orchestra, Duke of Edinburgh, and Model UN. SEND provision is well developed, with support for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school also has a resourced provision. For families who value a large, inclusive comprehensive with strong pastoral and extracurricular breadth, Shoeburyness offers a genuine community feel. However, given its below-average Progress 8 and attainment scores, it may not be the first choice for families focused on selective or high-performing academic routes, particularly when schools like Westcliff High School for Boys and Southend High School for Girls are within a few kilometres.

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