The school was built to accommodate the baby boom caused by the large number of children born after the end of the Second World War.

On 23 September 2006 over 100 pupils from the first intake of 1956 met at the Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford to celebrate the school's Golden Anniversary.

In the 2007 Queens Birthday Honours list David Kershaw, the school's first head boy (1956), was made a CBE for his services to education.

As the new building was opened the school was renamed Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College because of its new specialist status.

Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College offers GCSEs and BTECs as programmes of study for pupils, however the sixth form is now closed.