The school achieved an 'Outstanding' grade following a full Ofsted inspection in December 2011. The school was rated as outstanding in all 31 areas, one of fewer than 50 secondary schools nationally to be so assessed. Southend High School for Girls has a specialism in languages. All Key Stage 3 students study French and German or French and Spanish. Similar to other Southend-on-Sea district grammar schools, the school achieves excellent results at A level and various other examinations which are consistently above national averages, in part because of the selective entry system. In Science, Mathematics, English and Geography all students take a two-year Key Stage 3 qualification allowing them to commence their GCSE studies early.
Demographics
According to the school's most recent Ofsted report: "Most students are from a White British heritage, and a broadly average proportion is from minority ethnic backgrounds. No students are in the early stages of learning English. The proportion of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities is low and the proportion known to be entitled to free school meals is below average."
Sports
The school competes in various sports, including football and cross country running. Recently girls have been given the opportunity to represent the school in show-jumping. Sports Day is a chance for the athletic girls to win Sports Day titles. Each house competes in a range of events such as shot put, javelin, sprinting and hurdles. In more recent years the school underwent a major extension providing it with a new and fully equipped sports hall. The school represented England in the World Schools' Athletics in Tallinn in 2009 and came third and took part in the World Schools' Athletics Championships in Prague 2013 and finished in 5th place. Southend High School for Girls has won the junior girls National Athletics title on 13 occasions, the summer of 2016 being the 13th title. The school also holds the record for being crowned Junior Champions the most times of any other school entering the competition. The school has also won the intermediate girls title on 5 occasions, the last time was in 2016 also. Southend High School for Girls has also won the Junior Girls National Cross Country Cup twice and the Intermediate Girls National Cross Country Cup title in 2011 and 2012.
Houses
Southend High School For Girls has 6 houses. Before 2016 there were only 5 houses, Artemis – Red, Hermes – Blue, Hera – Yellow, Athene – Purple, Aphrodite – White. It was not until 2016 a new house, Aurora – Orange, was added to make up with the added form groups in year 7 and 8.
In April 2003 the school was closed for two days following a fire in an art room started by a student. On the day of the re-opening another fire was started; eventually three students were arrested in connection with the incidents. There was also another fire started in Room 8 on the middle floor of the towerblock where the students set a record for the amount of time taken to leave the building. The second fire was started in close proximity to gas pipes. In total three fires were started in the space of a single month leading to several parents withdrawing their daughters from the school.
The school was again attacked in December 2005 causing several thousand pounds worth of damage to the school kitchen and a number of classrooms at the front of the school. Despite the then headteacher David Mansfield's strong rhetoric, the damage was so extensive that the Christmas holiday break was extended for students of years 7 and 8. Reconstruction work took almost a year whilst a new kitchen, dining room and reception area were constructed and a number of classrooms had to be fully refitted.
