After closing the academy in May 2016, the club withdrew from the Elite Player Performance Plan and Professional Development League and launched a new Brentford B team.

[19] The entry into the league was "to give promising young professionals, amateurs and any “finds” a test and to build up the playing strength".

[25][26][27] Josh Clarke made the most competitive appearances for the team during its existence (64) and Jan Holldack, Luke Norris and Jermaine Udumaga tied as top scorers with 14 goals each.

[55] A 2022 article in The Athletic stated that "Brentford often sign players for their B team who have fallen out of favour or been released from Premier League academies.

[64] The grounds of AFC Wimbledon, Hanwell Town, Metropolitan Police, Bedfont Sports, Woking, Stevenage and Sutton United have also been utilised for home fixtures.

[73][74] The team's first fixture took place on 9 July 2016, against UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at Jersey Road, which resulted in a 4–1 victory to the Bees.

[59] On 27 August 2020, the team played the final match at Griffin Park, a 6–3 London Senior Cup semi-final win over Erith Town.

[64][80][81] Aside from overseas training camps,[60][82] the team has toured Germany, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Spain and the Netherlands.

[90] Along with Poole, Kevin Harding and Roy Cotton progressed to play league football with the first team, while Gary Huxley won England Youth international honours.

[101] Future key players John Docherty, Tommy Higginson and Peter Gelson began their Brentford careers in the team.

[106][107] The teams played their inaugural seasons in 2014–15 and Brentford Griffins won the Football Conference Youth Alliance London & South East division title.

[50] In 2018, Brentford Griffins and Bees were merged to form a single team, Brentford CST Bees, which entered the National League U19 Alliance and finished fourth in Division C.[114] An additional CST team entered the Community & Education Football Alliance (CEFA) for the 2018–19 season and reached the final of the CEFA Regional Cup.

[131] In December 2012, permission was granted by Hillingdon Council's South and Central Planning Committee for Brentford to build a Category Two Academy on the grounds of Uxbridge High School.

[134] An indicator of the academy beginning to bear fruit was evidenced by the call ups of Joshua Bohui, Harry Francis and Ross McMahon to England and Scotland youth-level training camps respectively during the 2014–15 season.

[137][138] In March 2018, central defender Chris Mepham became the first former academy player to be capped at full international level (by Wales) and in January 2019 he transferred away from the club for an undisclosed fee,[139] reported to be £12 million.

[56] In March 2022, Crystal Palace left back Tyrick Mitchell became the first former Brentford academy player to be capped by England at full international level.

[143] On 11 May 2016, a statement from co-directors of football Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankersen revealed that prior the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Brentford would withdraw from the Elite Player Performance Plan, the Professional Development League and would no longer run a full academy system between U8 and U21 level.

[43] Owner Matthew Benham later revealed the reasons for the closure in an open letter, saying "it is a competitive area, there are lots of academies in London.

[48] A 2017 article in The Guardian stated that "at a cost of around £2m a year, Brentford decided it was simply too much of a risk that their academy – with so much competition on its doorstep in London – would produce enough first team players to make that investment worthwhile".

[144] In December 2021, a public consultation began regarding a new planning application for improved facilities at Brentford's Jersey Road training ground.

[145] With the Brentford's promotion to the Premier League in 2021, the club stated that new facilities could be utilised for a "football academy in line with UEFA requirements".

[57] In March 2023, Brentford opened a Development Centre for players between the ages of 9 and 16 and in May 2024,[146] construction began on new academy facilities at the club's Jersey Road training ground.

[154] 10 second-year scholars graduated from the U18 team to sign professional contracts in April 2015,[155] the generation which had previously won the Junior category at the 2012 Milk Cup while U15s.

[126] From the beginning of the 2023–24 season, the team fielded a new intake of academy scholars and finished the campaign as champions of the EFL Youth Alliance Merit League 2.

[166] The U17 team played outside the United Kingdom for the first time when they journeyed to the Netherlands for a friendly match against AZ Alkmaar's Academy on 29 October 2013, with Brentford running out 4–1 winners.

[167] The U17s entered the Milk Cup for the first time in 2014 and exited the tournament on penalties to Club América in the Premier Section Globe semi-final.

[174] The U15 team were winners of the Junior category at the 2012 Milk Cup, seeing off CSKA Moscow and Liverpool along the way and beating Everton in the final.

[183] In June 2014, an U11 team entered the 28-team Holstein Cup (held in Bad Oldesloe, Germany) and finished third in the tournament, behind Hertha 03 Zehlendorf and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

[184] In late February 2015, Brentford hosted a prestigious England vs Germany U11 tournament, featuring teams from the academies of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, Hertha Berlin, Hannover 96 and Schalke 04.

Many former Brentford schoolboy, youth, reserve, Development Squad, B team and Community Sports Trust players found success with other clubs.