R. W. Hay, and considered a vast improvement both functionally (to deal with the hillside) and aesthetically (including a bell tower and collegiate architecture).

It was turbulent in the later 20th century; with no new income following the Second World War, parents' associations at the school petitioned the Secretary of State throughout the following decades to give it control of its finances separate to the local authority, twice being awarded such.

Marc Morris then left to become headmaster of Sha Tin College in Hong Kong in July 2011 and the post was taken by Alan Porteous in 2012.

This led to a protest and revolution under the organisation name BRGS FREEDOM creating a website[10] and a petition as well as sending numerous letters and emails into school to get their point across.

They were successful in getting the Year 10 choices reverted however they have been pulled for the forthcoming students meaning they have to complete 11 GCSEs in total.

Highly competitive, it still attracts students who commute from cities and towns around the north of England, including as far as Liverpool and Bradford in the 1990s.

[8] In keeping with its grammar school status, BRGS has consistently produced strong academic results throughout its modern history, with GCSE and A-Level pass rates above 80% for the duration; in the 1990s, the success was credited to the majority of staff serving for decades having created stability in standards of teaching.

[21] Still, BRGS is considered "traditionally a soccer school";[8] it has seen routine success in the sport[22] and sent its boys' teams to train with Valencia CF in the 2010s.

[8] In the 1990s, sports began to be organised by year group, with orienteering added, as well as non-competitive clubs for table tennis and climbing.

A merit board for gold award recipients hangs in the main hall and was unveiled during a school visit by Prince Edward (a son of the Duke of Edinburgh).

[26] The sixth form also received the highest possible rating, with the report saying that the school's culture creates "well-rounded citizens".

There were recommendations, however, to find ways to improve the secondary school pupils' verbal communication skills, and to ensure everyone could take part in extracurricular activities.

The 2022 report said that while education standards remained high and pupils were successful in extracurricular activities, welfare was terrible.

It said that at the school a culture of bullying, racism, misogyny, "harmful sexual behaviour", and homophobia prevailed, and that pupils, students and parents had given up on reporting issues due to staff inaction.