Southend High School for Boys delivers a world-class education despite declining income

Did you know that the school's staffing costs for teachers alone were more than £4.5m last year? Many staff dedicate nearly their whole career to the school, with Ofsted noting how the school's "passionate and expert teachers ensure pupils consistently achieve the highest standards". Utilities cost £558 per day despite solar panels on the roof. The school spends £565 on classroom materials and £349 on IT infrastructure every day. The estimated cost of running the school, excluding staffing costs, is nearly £2,500 per day or £1m per year.

As you may be aware, government funding has declined significantly over the past decade. Southend High School for Boys continues to provide an outstanding education for its pupils, described by Ofsted as "second to none", despite per-pupil funding being 20% lower than 2014 (taking inflation into account) and 25% lower than the current national average. The cost of everything including classroom materials, utilities and buildings maintenance continues to rise.

The Trust has been formed to safeguard the school's future and avoid real threats to its academic and extracurricular provision, and independence

To address this shortfall in funding and to safeguard our school’s future, we have established the Southend High School for Boys Charitable Trust. The sole purpose of the Trust is to raise essential funds to ensure our school can continue its proud 130-year tradition of excellence. The funds will close the gap between what the school receives through government funding and what it costs to provide outstanding education.

Without your help and the extra funds, there may be no other option than for the school to join a multi-academy trust that would threaten its cherished traditions and ethos, force reductions in the breadth of the curriculum and extracurricular activities, and see the closure of important library and careers services for students.

The Charitable Trust is committed to maintain the school as a single academy trust and ensuring that no student’s experience is diminished due to financial constraints.

The Trust needs your support to meet its critical £150,000 fundraising target for the 2025/26 year

The Trust has an immediate need to raise £150,000 during the 2025/26 academic year to ensure the school's financial requirements can be met, and to close the funding gap. This target is challenging, but thanks to your generosity, last year we were able to raise over £110,000.

Your continued support as past and present students, staff, parents, governors, friends and supporters of the school is vital for us to succeed and safeguard the school's future.