The Foulstone Modern School was built on land in the centre of Darfield, previously occupied by a children's recreation ground and by well-cultivated allotments, running alongside of Nanny Marr Road.

A lot has been written about the standard and quality of secondary education in the 1930s; much appeared to revolve around the "11 plus exam", an examination taken by children aged 10/11 years old.

(Tommy) Foulstone who was Darfield's representative on the West Riding County Council (headquarters at Wakefield); his special interest was education, standards for which he sought to increase at all levels.

[1] As part of its creative arts specialism, the school was the host of the Barnsley Youth Theatre Archived 5 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine.

Adjoining the school was a CLC which had a subsequent auditorium, a professional recording studio, a cyber cafe, a MAC lab, and computer suites.