It was situated near the junction of Queensway (A664) and Oldham Road (A671) between Balderstone and Kirkholt.

It was administered by Rochdale Education Committee, and moved to Queen Victoria Street in 1953 at a cost of £180,000.

A grammar school had been founded in 1565 in Rochdale by Matthew Parker, then Archbishop of Canterbury.

In 1992 it became a high school for boys and girls aged 11–16.

The building was used to host Kingsway Park High School until 2012 when a new building was built on the former Springhill High School site, Turfhill Road.