St Bernard's High School
Milton Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 7JS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST BERNARD'S HIGH SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Barnes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Constituency
- Southend East and Rochford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,030
- Pupils on roll
- 1,001
- URN
- 137312
- Local authority
- Southend-on-Sea
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01702343583
About this school
St Bernard's High School is a Roman Catholic girls' secondary academy in Westcliff-on-Sea. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,001 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Bernard's High School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 22 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 143 | 169 | 167 |
| Attainment 8 score | 58.5 | 55.5 | 54.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.77 +0.53 to +1.01 | +0.57 +0.35 to +0.79 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 68% | 64.5% | 59.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 87% | 83.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 69% | 52.1% | 7.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.3 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Bernard's High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Southend-on-Sea average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 58.5 | 48.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.5 | 43.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.9 | 45.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 967 |
| 2023/24 | 999 |
| 2024/25 | 1,021 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bernard's High School compares
St Bernard's High School ranked 5th of 12 secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.9 | 5.2% | 17.4% | 1,001 | — |
| Chase High School | 39.2 | 10.3% | 41.7% | 1,293 | 1.1 miles |
| Southend High School for Boys | 73.8 | 4.4% | 7.5% | 1,332 | 1.1 miles |
| Westcliff High School for Boys Academy | 77.6 | 3.8% | 7.5% | 1,309 | 1.6 miles |
| Westcliff High School for Girls | 75.6 | 4.7% | 9.5% | 1,354 | 1.7 miles |
| St Thomas More High School | 52.3 | 4.7% | 15.6% | 1,243 | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.4%
- English as an additional language
- 19.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.23%
- Persistent absence
- 13.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Chase High School1.1 miles
Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea
-
Southend High School for Boys1.1 miles
Secondary · Southend-on-Sea
-
Westcliff High School for Boys Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea
-
Westcliff High School for Girls1.7 miles
Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea
-
St Thomas More High School1.7 miles
Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea
Other schools in Westcliff-on-Sea
St Bernard's High School ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Westcliff-on-Sea.
- Chase High School Secondary
- St Thomas More High School Secondary
- Westcliff High School for Boys Academy Secondary
- Westcliff High School for Girls Secondary
- Barons Court Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Earls Hall Primary School Primary
- Milton Hall Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Prince Avenue Academy and Nursery Primary
- St Helen's Catholic Primary School Primary
- The Westborough School Primary
- Compass Community School Boleyn Park Special schools
- Lancaster School Academies
Common questions
- What ages does St Bernard's High School teach?
- St Bernard's High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Westcliff-on-Sea.
- Who is the headteacher of St Bernard's High School?
- The headteacher of St Bernard's High School is Mrs Helen Barnes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Bernard's High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Bernard's High School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at St Bernard's High School?
- St Bernard's High School has 1,001 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Bernard's High School full?
- St Bernard's High School has capacity for 1,030 pupils and 1,001 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Bernard's High School a faith school?
- Yes. St Bernard's High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Is St Bernard's High School a selective school?
- No. St Bernard's High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Bernard's High School part of an academy trust?
- St Bernard's High School is part of ST BERNARD'S HIGH SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Bernard's High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 58.5 in 2022/23 and 54.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Bernard's High School compare with other schools in Southend-on-Sea?
- St Bernard's High School ranked 5th of 12 secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Bernard's High School's absence rate?
- St Bernard's High School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Bernard's High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Bernard's High School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.