[1] The school gained Technology College status in 2002, after the head teacher advertised in Private Eye for sponsorship for the Technology College application[2] Awards received include Sportsmark Award, Artsmark Gold and International School Award.

The school was established by Joseph Riley in 1838 and by 1851 he had 33 boys in residence.

[3] In the 1860s it was bought by the Milligan family for use as a private home and was not used as an educational establishment until Littlemoor School utilized the premises as a senior department from 1951 until 1957 when the building was demolished.

The new school was built in contemporary brutalist style by Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners in the late 1950s and early 1960s, being formally opened by Lord ST. Oswald on Saturday 11 March 1961.

[4] In 2015, the Yorkshire Evening Post published an investigation into the risks posed by asbestos in the structure of the main school building.