Essex 11+ (CSSE) · results for 2027 entry
CSSE 11+ pass mark and cut-off scores
The 303 minimum, the last place offered at every CSSE school, and how your child’s standardised score is worked out. Every number on this page comes from CSSE’s own published data.
Minimum total score for any CSSE offer
Total for average marks on both papers, before any age adjustment
Range of last places offered on 1 March 2026
The CSSE 11+ pass mark: 303
CSSE’s rule: secondary school offers are not made to any child who has scored under a total standardised score of 303. Places won on appeal, and places given under a school’s special considerations criteria (for example Pupil Premium priority), sit outside this rule and outside the published cut-offs.
303 is a floor, not a target. At the three Essex grammar schools and for children outside a Southend priority area, the last place offered was 15 to 67 points higher. Only Southend High School for Girls, Westcliff High School for Girls (inside the priority area) and the selective places at Shoeburyness High School and St Thomas More High School went right down to 303 in 2026.
Above 303, places go by score and by the school’s own admissions policy, including its priority area. Each school publishes that policy on its website.
CSSE cut-off scores by school
Score of the last selective place offered on National Offer Day, from CSSE’s historical guidance sheets (published October 2026 and October 2025). “In” = inside the school’s priority area, “out” = outside it.
| School | Sept 2026 entry in / out | Sept 2025 entry in / out |
|---|---|---|
| King Edward VI Grammar School (boys), Chelmsford Essex grammar | 353 / 370 | 355 / 372 |
| Colchester Royal Grammar School (boys) Essex grammar | – / 346 | – / 343 |
| Colchester County High School for Girls Essex grammar | 326 / 332 | 322 / 333 |
| Westcliff High School for Boys Southend grammar | 314 / 352 | 309 / 351 |
| Southend High School for Boys Southend grammar | 310 / 346 | 305 / 342 |
| Westcliff High School for Girls Southend grammar | 303 / 332 | 306 / 345 |
| Southend High School for Girls Southend grammar | 303 / 318 | 303 / 321 |
| Shoeburyness High School (selective places) Partially selective | 303 / – | 304 / – |
| St Thomas More High School (boys, selective places) Partially selective | 303 / – | 303 / – |
- The Sept 2026 entry column comes from the test sat in September 2025; Sept 2025 entry from the September 2024 test. Scores are rounded to the nearest whole number.
- Colchester Royal Grammar School has no priority area, so it has one figure. Shoeburyness High School and St Thomas More High School publish one figure for their selective places; St Thomas More offers them only to residents of its catchment area.
- CSSE’s sheet gives no figure for St Bernard’s High School, the tenth CSSE school; check its own admissions policy and supplementary information form.
- CSSE warns that these figures fluctuate and that applying below them, but above the minimum, may still be worthwhile. There is no guarantee of a place based on them.
How the CSSE standardised score works
Your child gets a raw score on each paper (the maths paper is out of 60). CSSE turns each into a standardised score, adds a small age adjustment, and weights the two papers equally (1:1). Its October 2026 standardisation report sets out the steps:
- Standardise each paper: ((raw score − mean) ÷ standard deviation) × 15 + 100. Average marks give 100 on each paper.
- Add the age adjustment: “days younger” × that paper’s age factor, where days younger = date of birth minus 1 September 2015. The youngest children in the year get the most.
- Total: 1.5 × (adjusted maths + adjusted English). A child born on 1 September 2015 with average marks on both papers scores exactly 300.
| September 2026 test (n = 4,994) | Mean raw score | Standard deviation | Age factor per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maths | 25.80 | 12.79 | 0.00474 |
| English | 33.39 | 7.99 | 0.01192 |
The September 2025 test (n = 5,113) had a maths mean of 27.30 and an English mean of 34.99. The maths paper is hard for everyone: the average child got fewer than half the maths marks.
A worked example with the 2026 figures
These are our calculations with CSSE’s published formula, for an imaginary child, not anyone’s real result.
Raw scores of 40 out of 60 in maths and 40 in English, born on 1 September 2015 (no age adjustment):
- Maths: ((40 − 25.80) ÷ 12.79) × 15 + 100 ≈ 116.7
- English: ((40 − 33.39) ÷ 7.99) × 15 + 100 ≈ 112.4
- Total: 1.5 × (116.7 + 112.4) ≈ 343.6, so about 344
The same marks for a child born on 1 March 2016 (182 days younger) add 182 × (0.00474 + 0.01192) × 1.5 ≈ 4.5 points, for about 348. The youngest children in the year gain about 9 points.
What one mark is worth: with the 2026 figures, each extra raw mark added about 1.8 points to the total in maths and about 2.8 in English, because the English marks were bunched more tightly. With an exactly average English score and no age adjustment, a child needed about 28 out of 60 in maths to clear 303, and about 39 out of 60 gave a total of roughly 323.
How many children sit the CSSE 11+?
| Year of entry | Candidates |
|---|---|
| 2019 entry | 5,646 |
| 2021 entry | 4,989 |
| 2023 entry | 4,977 |
| 2024 entry | 4,983 |
| 2025 entry | 5,295 |
| 2026 entry (standardised) | 5,113 |
| 2027 entry (standardised) | 4,994 |
From CSSE’s candidate totals (2010–2025 entry) and the “n” in its 2026 and 2027 entry standardisation reports. About 5,000 children a year.
Results and offer dates for 2027 entry
As of November 2026, from the CSSE Information Guide for 2027 Entry. Confirm at csse.org.uk.
| What | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| CSSE 11+ test for 2027 entry (main day) | Saturday 19 September 2026 | Tuesday 29 September 2026 for religious, medical or exceptional reasons |
| Results emailed to every candidate | 12 October 2026 | After close of business; raw scores for each paper plus the total standardised score |
| Local authority application form closes | 31 October 2026 | Name every CSSE school you want here: the 11+ registration is not an application |
| National Offer Day | 1 March 2027 | Your local authority sends the offer; the real 2027-entry cut-offs are only known after this |
If your child is in Year 5 now, their test is in September 2027 for 2028 entry. The dates, registration and paper format are on our CSSE 11+ 2027 hub.
Preparing a Year 5 child for the maths paper
CSSE maths past papers
Where the free official papers are and how to use them.
11+ maths questions
Original practice questions, explained step by step.
11+ maths syllabus
The Key Stage 2 topics the paper draws on.
Because the maths paper is marked on the answer alone, the marks are lost on small slips: a wrong unit (cm asked, mm given), an answer not in the form the question asked for (one decimal place, hours and minutes), or one box of a two-box answer left empty. Topic practice on ratio, percentages and algebra, then timed papers in the summer, is a calm way to build accuracy. To see where your child loses marks, start with our 10 free Essex 11+ maths practice questions, marked the way the real paper is. CSSE itself says children only need a limited amount of practice to get used to the question types and timing.
CSSE 11+ pass mark FAQ
What is the pass mark for the CSSE 11+? +
CSSE schools make no offer to a child whose total standardised score is under 303. That is the figure parents call the pass mark. It is a minimum, not a guarantee: at most grammar schools the last place offered was well above 303, especially for children living outside the priority area.
What score do you need for KEGS, CCHSG or the Southend grammars? +
On 1 March 2026 the last places offered were 353 inside and 370 outside the priority area at King Edward VI Grammar School, 346 at Colchester Royal Grammar School (no priority area), 326/332 at Colchester County High School for Girls, 314/352 at Westcliff High School for Boys, 310/346 at Southend High School for Boys, and 303/332 and 303/318 at Westcliff High School for Girls and Southend High School for Girls. These figures change every year.
Is 300 a good CSSE 11+ score? +
A total of 300 is roughly average. CSSE scales each paper so that average marks give 100 in English and 100 in maths, then multiplies the sum by 1.5, so a child with average marks on both papers and no age adjustment scores 300. Because younger children also get a small age adjustment, the average total across all candidates is a few points higher. A score of 300 is below the 303 minimum, so it does not lead to an offer. Scores in the 310s and above have secured places at several Southend grammar schools for children inside their priority areas.
How is the CSSE standardised score calculated? +
Each raw score is standardised: subtract that year’s mean, divide by its standard deviation, multiply by 15 and add 100. A small age adjustment is added for each day a child is younger than 1 September of the oldest birth year. The two standardised scores are added and multiplied by 1.5. For the September 2026 test the maths mean was 25.80 out of 60 and the English mean 33.39, from 4,994 candidates.
When are the CSSE 11+ cut-off scores for 2027 entry published? +
The actual cut-offs are only known after National Offer Day on 1 March 2027. CSSE then updates its historical guidance sheet, usually published with the results in October. Until then, use the 2026 figures above as a guide only.
Can CSSE papers be re-marked? +
No. The CSSE schools have a joint policy not to re-mark test papers, and no adjustment is made for a child’s circumstances on the day. Parents can raise circumstances with an independent appeal panel after offer day.
Math Explorers Club is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE) or any school named here. All figures are taken from CSSE’s published data; check csse.org.uk and each school’s admissions policy before you decide.