West Leigh Junior School
Ronald Hill Grove, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 2JB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PORTICO ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Aggus
- Sponsor
- Portico Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Southend West and Leigh
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 528
- Pupils on roll
- 526
- URN
- 142753
- Local authority
- Southend-on-Sea
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01702478593
About this school
West Leigh Junior School is a primary academy in Leigh-on-Sea. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 526 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected West Leigh Junior School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 132 | 130 | 131 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 80% | 75% | 84% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 26% | 18% | 22% |
| Expected standard in reading | 89% | 87% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 84% | 82% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 86% | 85% | 91% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 106.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How West Leigh Junior 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 | 80% | 57.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 58.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 84% | 59.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 525 |
| 2023/24 | 524 |
| 2024/25 | 528 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How West Leigh Junior School compares
West Leigh Junior School ranked 3rd of 27 primary schools in Southend-on-Sea for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 84% | 3.3% | 7% | 526 | — |
| West Leigh Infant School | — | 3.4% | 3.6% | 360 | 0.0 miles |
| Leigh North Street Primary School | 57% | 4% | 12.2% | 612 | 0.5 miles |
| Darlinghurst Academy | 68% | 4.6% | 25.7% | 547 | 0.8 miles |
| Blenheim Primary School | 65% | 4.7% | 18.7% | 650 | 0.8 miles |
| Fairways Primary School | 70% | 4.7% | 18.9% | 407 | 0.9 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report21 April 2026
- 9 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 7.01%
- English as an additional language
- 7.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.31%
- Persistent absence
- 4.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
West Leigh Infant School0.0 miles
Primary · Leigh-on-Sea
-
Leigh North Street Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Leigh-on-Sea
-
Darlinghurst Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Leigh-on-Sea
-
Blenheim Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Leigh-on-Sea
-
Fairways Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Leigh-on-Sea
Other schools in Leigh-on-Sea
West Leigh Junior School ranks 2nd of the 8 ranked primary schools in Leigh-on-Sea.
- Blenheim Primary School Primary
- Chalkwell Hall Infant School Primary
- Chalkwell Hall Junior School Primary
- Darlinghurst Academy Primary
- Eastwood Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Edwards Hall Primary School Primary
- Fairways Primary School Primary
- Heycroft Primary School Primary
- Leigh North Street Primary School Primary
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Primary
- West Leigh Infant School Primary
- Belfairs Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does West Leigh Junior School teach?
- West Leigh Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Leigh-on-Sea.
- Who is the headteacher of West Leigh Junior School?
- The headteacher of West Leigh Junior School is Mr Mark Aggus, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has West Leigh Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected West Leigh Junior 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 West Leigh Junior School?
- West Leigh Junior School has 526 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is West Leigh Junior School full?
- West Leigh Junior School has capacity for 528 pupils and 526 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is West Leigh Junior School a faith school?
- No. West Leigh Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does West Leigh Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records West Leigh Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Is West Leigh Junior School part of an academy trust?
- West Leigh Junior School is part of PORTICO ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have West Leigh Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 80% in 2022/23 and 84% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does West Leigh Junior School compare with other schools in Southend-on-Sea?
- West Leigh Junior School ranked 3rd of 27 primary schools in Southend-on-Sea for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is West Leigh Junior School's absence rate?
- West Leigh Junior School's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are West Leigh Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, West Leigh Junior 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 2 July 2026.