Southend High School for Boys 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Southend High School for Boys

Southend High School for Boys (SHSB) is a state grammar school academy in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, educating boys from Year 7 to Year 11, with a co-educational sixth form. The school has an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted history (2011).

Entry to Year 7 is through the shared CSSE 11+, the bespoke Essex test set by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex, rather than a GL Assessment paper. Your son registers once, sits the test once, and the result can be used for any CSSE school named on the secondary application form.

SHSB has 180 places for 2027 entry, split 150 for boys from its priority postcode area and 30 for boys from outside it, with places in each group going to the highest-scoring boys first. Both catchment and score decide the outcome, which makes SHSB’s admissions a little more involved than many grammar schools.

Key information for 2027: Southend High School for Boys at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: State grammar school academy (boys at 11+, co-educational sixth form)
• Consortium: Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE)
• Registration deadline: 5pm, June 2026, at csse.org.uk
• Exam date: September 2026 (contingency date later in September for religious or medical reasons)
• CAF deadline: end of October 2026
• National school offer day: March 2027
• Contact details: Prittlewell Chase, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 0RG, www.shsb.org.uk, www.csse.org.uk/examination

Admissions information for 2027 entry: Southend High School for Boys at 11 Plus (11+)

Registration for Year 7 entry into Southend High School for Boys opens in May and closes at 5pm in June 2026, via the CSSE’s own registration process at csse.org.uk. The shared CSSE test is sat in September, with results emailed to parents in October, ahead of the Local Authority secondary application deadline of 31 October 2026.

The published admission number for 2027 entry is 180. Of these, 150 are reserved for boys living within SHSB’s priority postcode area (postcode districts SS0 to SS9), and 30 for boys living outside it. Within each of those two groups, a further quota is set aside first for boys entitled to ‘preferential consideration’ (Free School Meals, Pupil Premium, or looked after): 15 of the 150 priority-area places, and 3 of the 30 out-of-area places. Places in each sub-group go to the highest-scoring boys first, working down until the group is full.

The CSSE-wide minimum standardised score is 303; no boy is offered a place at any consortium school below this. SHSB’s own qualifying mark is then set annually and confirmed after National school offer day in March 2027. If two boys tie for the last place, preferential consideration is decided first, then straight-line distance from home to the school’s nearest pupil entrance, then a supervised computerised random draw.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exam at Southend High School for Boys?

To register your son for the CSSE 11+, you as parent or legal guardian complete the online registration through the CSSE’s own registration portal at csse.org.uk, before the June 2026 deadline. Registering once covers every CSSE school you later name on the secondary application form, so there is no need to register separately for Southend High School for Boys.

When registering, check your home address against the priority area postcode districts (SS0 to SS9) on the SHSB admissions page, since this decides which of the two applicant groups, and which set of places, your son competes for.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for Southend High School for Boys?

Southend High School for Boys does not set its own entrance exam. Like every Essex grammar school, it selects through the shared CSSE 11+, written by the consortium rather than an external test provider, and marked in full rather than by multiple choice.

• English: 60 minutes, plus 10 minutes reading time, comprising a comprehension section on a reading passage and a continuous writing section testing structure, vocabulary, punctuation and original ideas.
• Maths: 60 minutes, questions from the Key Stage 2 curriculum, worked and written out in the booklet, testing both accuracy and pace.

Each paper is age-standardised to adjust for your son’s date of birth, then the two are weighted equally and combined into a total standardised score, which is used across all ten CSSE schools.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) Southend High School for Boys exam

From registration in May to the test in September is around four months. Because SHSB ranks strictly by score within a fixed priority-area split, and the CSSE test includes a real writing task, the aim is to build both accuracy and stamina, with particular attention to the writing section where many otherwise strong candidates lose marks.

Regular, timed practice in the real format makes the biggest difference: full papers under exam conditions, marked together, with time set aside afterwards to work on whatever the marking shows up. Keeping up reading and short writing tasks through the school term, then stepping up to full timed papers over the summer holidays, suits most families well.

For Southend High School for Boys (CSSE) 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: