[1] It was called the George Stephenson Grammar School in 1953, at which time it was built on Benton Lane (the Great Lime Road) in West Moor.

[2] (George Stephenson lived nearby in a cottage when he worked at Killingworth Colliery.)

When he died in 2004 at the age of 94, a plaque reading "Here, from 1956 to 2004, stood a Place of Learning" was placed on the wall of the West Moor Residents Association Community Centre, which now stands on the site of the old grammar school.

The popularity of the grammar school was such that it had expanded over the years from about 350 pupils (the capacity of the original main building) to about 600 (by the addition of prefabricated classrooms at the rear of the school).

The school motto was Praesis Ut Prosis, "Lead in order to serve."