Westcliff High School for Boys

Admissions and 11 Plus exam information for Westcliff High School for Boys. Use the site to help you find out how to be successful with an 11 Plus exam application to Westcliff High School for Boys.

11 Plus Entry Information for Westcliff High School for Boys

The school is average in size. Pupils come from many areas within Southend and some from further afield. The school’s socio-economic context is relatively favourable and the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well below average. As a selective school, pupils’ attainment on entry is well above the national average, but the range of ability is wider than in some other grammar schools. A very small proportion of pupils has learning difficulties or disabilities, and none has a statement of special educational need. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is average, but very few speak English as an additional language. The school has specialist status for humanities. It has achieved the Healthy Schools Award.

County	Essex
Address	Westcliff High School for Boys, Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 0BP
Type	Boys Grammar
Pupils	1,072
Places in Year 7	150
Open Days	June
Westcliff High School for Boys 11+ Resources	Maths resources English resources
Competition	5-6 applicants for every place
Exam Format	Essex 11 Plus CSSE
School Website	www.whsb.essex.sch.uk

Westcliff High School for Boys 11 Plus Exam Format

Westcliff High School for Boys falls into the CSSE Consortium. Meaning all schools in this consortium have the same exam. The exam format is as follows

Paper 1	60 minute free response Mathematics Paper.
Paper 2	1 Hour 10 minutes English paper. Section 1 includes 50 minutes on comprehension. Section 2 contains a 20 minute continuous writing task.

Westcliff High School for Boy 11 Plus Exam Paper

Some publishers have access to the exam format and produce their own mirror papers which aim to replicate what an 11 Plus exam for this consortium might look like.

We understand that these publishers get the information from familiarisation packs sent to parents, teachers, local tutors and pupils who have sat the test. The tests can of course change at any time and these papers only aim to give a good idea of what to expect, however, they are very useful and most parents use them at some point.

The ones we would suggest are from Learning Street. They are of high quality and cheaper than any others we have seen. Direct links to the papers are below and Learning Street produce them as mock exams which is unique ( so you can run your own mock exam at home). Links to the papers are below:

Essex CSSE Mock 11 Plus Exam Pack 1

Essex CSSE Mock 11 Plus Exam Pack 2

Essex CSSE Mock 11 Plus Exam Pack 3

Essex CSSE Mock 11 Plus Exam Pack 4

Essex CSSE Mock 11 Plus Exam Papers Bundle (Packs 1-4)

How to prepare for the Essex CSSE 11 Plus Exam

Essentially you have 5 options when it comes to helping your child to prepare.

1/ Some parents use a Private Tutor. If you want to start your search for a suitable one, we provide links to some Private tutors in Essex to help you. These can cost between £2500 and £6000 a year. For help thinking about which private tutor might be right for you see our guidance page.

2/ Other parents use a Tuition Centre with group tuition. If you want to start your search for a suitable one, we provide links to some Tuition centres in Essex to help you. These can cost between £1500 and £3500 for a year. For help thinking about which tuition centre might be right for you see our guidance page.

3/ If you are thinking of preparing at home using books then our 11 Plus Exam papers and books section provides lots of links and advice to help you choose which books to use and what to focus on. Preparation plans are also provided. Using this method is great for those parents prepared to take a more hands on approach. The average parent using this method spends about £300 on books and papers during the final year of preparation.

4/ A great option is a structured course. These courses gradually build up skills so you can focus on helping your child with the work provided. The best supplier is Learning Street which helps you prepare your child from home, ranging in price from £12 to £89 ( full cost – not monthly cost) it is the cheapest method of preparation. To find out their course suggestions for Westcliff High School for Boys 11 Plus preparation click the link.

5/ Online preparation. This is not something we recommend. Online solutions are growing more useful and reliable and for some aspects of preparation they can be useful but certainly not for all your preparation needs. They are also very expensive for what they provide with some coming in at £600- £1000 for a year depending on which options you select. For our rationale on why we believe online preparation is not a good solution yet click through to the page 11 Plus online preparation.