An outstanding and successful grammar school Apply Now we celebrate and promote academic excellence, but we also place a high value on creativity,
performance, sporting excellence and leadership
We Challenge Young Minds
Inspired, independent and ambitious learners Find Out More who take pride in themselves and in contributing to the community around
them and have a taste for success at the highest level.
We Challenge Young Minds

About Us

From our Headteacher

A Welcome Message

It’s a great privilege to introduce myself as the Headteacher at Southend High School for Girls, and on behalf of our students and staff, I’m pleased to welcome you to our website. The school has over a hundred years of history, tradition and success – educating the brightest young minds. As Headteacher, I’m passionate about the learning and development of our students and am delighted that you’ve shown an interest in our wonderful school.

SHSG is a unique school. Students and staff cherish its traditions, such as celebrating the school’s birthday just before October half term and presenting birthday presents to the school. Clocks are a popular gift! Our 1,200 students and 140 staff are joined by past pupils, governors and headteachers in the hall – singing the school’s song, Jerusalem, with gusto – a great example of the SHSG family coming together. Indeed, once a member of the SHSG family, always a member of the SHSG family.

Southend High School for Girls is a high-performing grammar school – academic excellence is at the core of our purpose and commitment to students and parents. Teachers are passionate about their subjects and are experts in their fields. We are unashamedly ambitious for our students and challenge them far beyond the National Curriculum. For example, in Year 7 students learn Latin and classical Greek, in addition to learning how to code in computer science. At GCSE, students can take Further Maths and Statistics, including additional subjects beyond the curriculum, such as Critical and Contextual Art. At A Level, students study four subjects and the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).

Of course, we’re about far more than just great academic outcomes. Developing the whole person and seeing our Year 7s grow into confident, articulate and highly motivated young adults strong in self-belief and ready to start their next chapter after Year 13 is why we’re here.

A student’s journey at SHSG is full of adventure, and we encourage students to get involved. There’s something to inspire and challenge everyone. Students relish opportunities to participate in Duke of Edinburgh and World Challenge expeditions, to be leaders, to perform in school shows, and to represent the school in our nationally renowned sports teams.

SHSG is an inspiring and vibrant place, full of energy and laughter – and amazing people! It’s a school where we constantly aim to meet the challenges set out in our principles of ensuring that everyone is safe, happy and successful.

Jason Carey

Headteacher

Our Values and Ethos

A Culture Built on Guiding Principles and High Expectations

It is a privilege to learn and to work at Southend High School for Girls.

At the core of our philosophy, we believe that students should be safe, happy and successful. We aspire to create a pervasive ethos of high expectations and promote discipline and good behaviour in school life.

A strong academic ethos and family values

Southend High School for Girls has a strong academic ethos, underpinned by family values where we care for, challenge, and support one another.  We believe that our young people should develop high self-efficacy and self-belief, be confident and fearless, demonstrating resilience in the face of challenges.

Our academic ethos is underpinned by a culture of teaching which centres on Trivium 21C approaches where the tradition of grammar and knowledge form the foundations for questioning, reasoning, communicating, and learning.  An SHSG student is encouraged to develop a swashbuckling approach to their learning and personal development journey from Year 7 to Year 13, confident to take risks and engaging in learning adventures with gusto and flamboyance.

We believe in the importance of creating a strong sense of pride, shared identity, teamwork and belonging in our school for every member of the SHSG family. Once a member of the SHSG family, you are always a member of the SHSG family and have a lifelong connection to the school, its people, values and traditions.

A strong belief in

Challenge and opportunity

We operate in the context of a selective, high-performing grammar school and firmly believe that provision must be high quality and that we challenge and inspire students to discover new interests and develop existing ones, from academic to artistic, creative and sporting pursuits.

Mission Statement

Vision Statement

A Culture of Success - Grounded in Support and Development

Every member of staff is committed to the success of every student. We remove barriers and encourage participation, competition, performance and endeavour.

Fostering good mental wellbeing and promoting the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of students are at the heart of our practice. Every student and member of staff brings something unique to the school; we celebrate and embrace diversity and never tolerate discrimination.

We encourage students to develop positive character traits, including integrity, courtesy, respect, and generosity, playing their part in augmenting the SHSG family ethos and living out the school’s motto, etched into the stained-glass window at the entrance to the school:

‘So enter that daily thou mayest become more learned and thoughtful. So depart that thou mayest become more useful to thy country and mankind.’

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Our School History

2020

The beginning of a new era

COVID-19  impacts the world, and students learn from home.

2013

Championships

World Schools’ Athletics Championships in Prague 2013.

1938

Coat of Arms

The Southend High School for Girls coat of arms is granted.

1913

Opening of SHSG

Southend High School for Girls, a grammar school, is established.

Everything you need to know

Prospectuses

SHSG Prospectus

SHSG outstanding Ofsted report 2024! "Pupils flourish and excel at Southend High School for Girls"view report