The school reformed at RAF Spitalgate near Grantham on 1 April 1928, equipped with Avro 504Ns and Armstrong Whitworth Siskins, which were later replaced by Avro Tutors, Armstrong Whitworth Atlases and Hawker Harts.

By the outbreak of war the school was operating Harts and Airspeed Oxfords but on 24 June 1940 it became a No.

In November 1974 it took over another unit when the RN Elementary Flying Training School arrived from RAF Church Fenton, but with the reduction in the demand for pilots and the RAF cut back, the school was disbanded at Leeming on 26 April 1984.

The school's current incarnation began on 1 February 1989 when it became part of RAF Cranwell by redesignating the flying element of the Royal Air Force College[4] and undertook the basic flying training of some graduates from Initial Officer Training at the co-located RAF College Cranwell, other graduates going to RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

[citation needed] Shorts Tucanos began arriving from January 1991[5] with the last flight of the Jet Provost on 29 October 1991.

[8] The Dominie was withdrawn from service when WSO and WSOp training ended on 20 January 2011.

Squadrons forming part of 3 FTS: Due to its proximity to, and because of, the busier circuit at RAF Cranwell, elementary flying training units use RAF Barkston Heath for a significant amount of their operations.

674 Squadron AAC formed the Army Air Corps contingent of 3 FTS up until its standing down in April 2021.