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St Bernard's High School

Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea · SS0 7JS

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 22 March 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,001 pupils · 97% of 1,030 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Girls
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
16.5% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
19.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
5.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.stbernards.southend.sch.uk/
URN
137312

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 184 families named it first for 175 Year 7 places, 1.05 first choices per place. We hold 4 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 22 March 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.05 first-choice applications per place

175 places offered · 184 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

167 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
54.9
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
83.2%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
59.3%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.2
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C
30.5
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school54.9
Median of its 12 closest peers50.8
Southend-on-Sea average54.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
St Catherine's Catholic SchoolBexleyheath · 24 miles awayStrong standard55.1
Bishop's Hatfield Girls' SchoolHatfield · 42 miles awayOutstanding51.9
Sacred Heart of Mary Girls' SchoolUpminster · 20 miles awayOutstanding62.2
Finchley Catholic High SchoolLondon · 38 miles awayGood62.3
St Aidan's Catholic AcademySunderland · 247 miles awayOutstanding51.2
St Mark's West Essex Catholic SchoolHarlow · 30 miles awayGood46.3
St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyManchester · 186 miles awayGood50.4
Wyedean School and Sixth Form CentreChepstow · 144 miles awayGood45.8
Nova Hreod AcademySwindon · 108 miles awayGood49.1
Samuel Ward AcademyHaverhill · 40 miles awayGood43.8
Queen Elizabeth's Girls' SchoolBarnet · 39 miles awayStrong standard58.6
Crispin School AcademyStreet · 151 miles awayGood42.7

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 37% (Southend-on-Sea 56%, England 59%) · Black African 16% (Southend-on-Sea 9%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 8% (Southend-on-Sea 7%, England 4%) · Any other White background 8% (Southend-on-Sea 6%, England 7%) · Any other Asian background 7% (Southend-on-Sea 4%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 4% (Southend-on-Sea 1%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Southend-on-Sea 3%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 3% (Southend-on-Sea 2%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Southend-on-Sea 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Southend-on-Sea 1%, England 1%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Southend-on-Sea 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Southend-on-Sea 1%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Southend-on-Sea 1%, England 3%) · White Irish 1% (Southend-on-Sea 0%, England 0%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Southend-on-Sea 1%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Southend-on-Sea 0%, England 1%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
5.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
13.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

2.74 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Southend-on-Sea: 14.34 suspensions and 0.19 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
15.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

73% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 19% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

73.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.6 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,635; 11.1% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
99%
Continuing in education
97%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
66%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
19%
Any sustained destination
85%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher34.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications16.6%18.1%
In managerial or professional work33.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways17.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health49.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier49.4%62.3%
Social housing2.8%17.1%
Privately rented47.8%20.5%
Detached houses8.5%22.9%
Flats58.7%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms23%21.1%
Households with no car or van30.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01015856 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£250,000643 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£185,000–£325,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (34)£542,500
Semi-detached (53)£374,000
Terraced (93)£330,000
Flat (463)£215,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
5an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
7an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
54an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
19an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools