A GRAMMAR school is celebrating retaining its "outstanding" Ofsted rating after its first full inspection in more than 10 years.

As they start a new school year, pupils at Southend High School for Girls are celebrating retaining its top rating from the education watchdog today following a visit in July.

The report, which praises the school's "highly ambitious" curriculum which it says goes "far beyond" the national curriculum, is the school's first since January 2012.

Jason Carey, who joined the school as headteacher in 2019, said: "We are delighted with the report. It reflects the commitment and dedication of our staff at Southend High School for Girls and celebrates the brilliance of our young people.

"Most of all, we are delighted that the report says how pupils flourish and excel at Southend High School for Girls and that they see the school as a family. This is what Southend High School for Girls is all about."

Pupils and Jason Carey celebrating the report todayTop rating - Pupils and Mr Carey celebrating the report today (Image: Southend High School for Girls)

Inspectors found pupils eagerly take part in "stimulating and engaging lessons that light a fire for learning" and the school is "relentless in its desire to keep improving".

Mr Carey added: "The timing of the report was perfect. It comes on the back of Southend High School for Girls achieving its best A-Level and GCSE results.

"We were pleased to see that the inspectors stated that ‘pupils achieve very highly’. This year, 40 per cent of our A-Level grades were A*-A, and 51 per cent of GCSE grades were grades 9-8.’’

The report praises the grammar school in Southchurch Boulevard for its "exceptional" pastoral care with pupils seeing the school as a family and supporting each other.

"The school is tenacious and highly effective in its work to ensure all of its pupils are happy, safe, and successful," inspectors added.

It also noted how pupils appreciate the support and encouragement they receive from staff, who have high expectations for behaviour, as well as the school's vast range of clubs, trips, visits and visitors.

Chair of governors, Nicola Slaughter, added: “I’m delighted with our recent Ofsted report which so accurately captures the essence of Southend High School for Girls.

“We are rightly proud and are so pleased to see all the hard work of staff and students recognised by Ofsted. On behalf of the trustees I’d like to congratulate the whole school community on this well-deserved outcome.”

This new rating comes after changes announced by the new Labour Government mean schools will no longer be issued with one-word headline grades for overall effectiveness when inspected.