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

About Southend High School for Girls

Southend High School for Girls is a girls’ state grammar school in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, with a co-educational sixth form. It selects through the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex.

The school’s published admission number varies from year to year: for September 2025 it admitted 224 students as a one-year variation rather than as its standing number, so check the figure for your child’s year of entry in the current admissions policy.

Key information for 2027 entry to Southend High School for Girls at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: girls’ state grammar school with a co-educational sixth form
• Test: the CSSE examination, shared by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex
• Format: English, 60 minutes plus 10 minutes reading time, and mathematics, 60 minutes
• Registration: with the CSSE, not the school. Registration for September 2027 entry has closed
• Access arrangements deadline for 2027 entry: 26 June 2026
• Test date: Saturday 19 September 2026
• Common Application Form deadline: 31 October 2026
• National Offer Day: Monday 1 March 2027
• Appeals: the Notice of Appeal deadline for 2026 entry was midday on Tuesday 14 April 2026
• Contact details: shsg.org, [email protected]

Admissions information for 2027 entry to Southend High School for Girls at 11 Plus (11+)

Southend High School for Girls selects through the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex, the CSSE. One registration and one test cover every CSSE school, so your daughter sits the papers once. Related pages: Southend High School for Boys and Westcliff High School for Girls.

The CSSE office runs the examination and nothing else. It has no part in school applications, offers or appeals, which are handled by your local authority and by the school. Families regularly email the wrong one and lose time.

Registering for the test is not applying for a place. You must also name Southend High School for Girls on the Common Application Form submitted to your local authority by 31 October. A pass mark is set each year, and passing does not guarantee an offer.

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

1. Register with the CSSE, not with the school. Registration for September 2027 entry has now closed.
2. Request access arrangements during the registration window. For 2027 entry the deadline for all requests and supporting documentation was 26 June 2026.
3. Download the free familiarisation papers from the CSSE site. They show the layout and the answer sheet.
4. Test centre letters are emailed to parents ahead of the test. Contact the CSSE office if yours does not arrive.
5. Sit the test on Saturday 19 September 2026.
6. Name Southend High School for Girls on your Common Application Form by 31 October 2026.

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

The CSSE examination is two papers, both sat on the same day:

• English, 60 minutes, with an extra 10 minutes of reading time before it starts.
• Mathematics, 60 minutes.

There is no separate verbal reasoning paper and no non-verbal reasoning paper. One change is worth knowing if you are working from older material: from September 2024, for 2025 entry onwards, the English paper no longer contains Applied Reasoning questions. Practice papers published before that change test something the current paper does not.

Scores are standardised and combined, and the CSSE sets a qualifying standard each year. Free familiarisation papers are published on the CSSE website.

Southend High School for Girls 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Use the ten minutes of reading time properly. It is unusual, it is free, and a child who reads the whole passage first answers faster afterwards.
• Check the age of any practice material. Anything written before the 2025-entry change still includes Applied Reasoning, which the English paper no longer tests.
• Do not spend time on verbal or non-verbal reasoning. The CSSE tests English and maths only.
• Work full hour-long papers. Sixty minutes is longer than most 11+ papers, and stamina is part of what is being measured.
• Download the free CSSE familiarisation papers before buying anything, so your child has seen the real layout.

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

Two hour-long papers in English and maths reward depth rather than breadth. Comprehension, writing accuracy and Key Stage 2 maths worked under time are the whole syllabus, which makes a CSSE plan simpler to build than a four-subject reasoning plan.

For Southend High School for Girls 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: