St Nicholas School
Philpott Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 4RL
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SEN TRUST SOUTHEND
- Headteacher
- Mrs Laura Fox
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Southend East and Rochford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 108
- Pupils on roll
- 108
- URN
- 144691
- Local authority
- Southend-on-Sea
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01702462322
About this school
St Nicholas School is a special academy in Southend-on-Sea. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 108 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 18 | 16 | 20 |
| Attainment 8 score | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -2.10 -2.75 to -1.45 | -1.51 -2.27 to -0.74 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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 Nicholas 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 | 1.5 | 48.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 1.6 | 43.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 2.5 | 45.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 90 |
| 2023/24 | 97 |
| 2024/25 | 103 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 64.08%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 11.26%
- Persistent absence
- 27.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Thorpe Hall School0.8 miles
Independent schools
-
Alleyn Court Preparatory School0.8 miles
Independent schools · Southend-on-Sea
-
Victory Park Academy1.0 miles
Academies · Southend-On-Sea
-
Sutton House Academy1.0 miles
Academies · Southend-On-Sea
-
Southend YMCA Community School1.4 miles
Free Schools · Southend-on-Sea
Other schools in Southend-on-Sea
- Kingsdown School Academies
- Southend YMCA Community School Free Schools
- Sutton House Academy Academies
- Victory Park Academy Academies
- Barling Magna Primary Academy Primary
- Bournemouth Park Academy Primary
- Bournes Green Infant School Primary
- Bournes Green Junior School Primary
- Friars Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Great Wakering Primary Academy Primary
- Greenways Primary School Primary
- Hamstel Infant School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Nicholas School teach?
- St Nicholas School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a special school in Southend-on-Sea.
- Who is the headteacher of St Nicholas School?
- The headteacher of St Nicholas School is Mrs Laura Fox, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Nicholas School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Nicholas 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 big is St Nicholas School?
- St Nicholas School has 108 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Nicholas School full?
- St Nicholas School has capacity for 108 pupils and 108 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 St Nicholas School a faith school?
- No. St Nicholas School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs St Nicholas School?
- St Nicholas School is part of SEN TRUST SOUTHEND. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Nicholas School have?
- The schools register lists St Nicholas School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Nicholas School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 1.5 in 2022/23 and 2.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is St Nicholas School's absence rate?
- St Nicholas School's overall absence rate is 11.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Nicholas School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Nicholas 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 10 July 2026.