However, the local community, including Member of Parliament David Madel, fought to keep Queensbury open and took advantage of the grant-maintained system introduced in 1988.

During its ten years as a grant-maintained school, it grew from having meagre enrolment numbers to being heavily oversubscribed.

After Clayton left his post in 2003, Deputy Head Lynn Morgan briefly served as Interim Headteacher until the arrival of Nigel Hill.

During his first year as Headteacher, Hill decided to replace sugary snacks in vending machines with healthier alternatives, which gained national news attention.

[5] Hill departed in 2012 after the school was placed into special measures by OFSTED, leading to the interim appointment of Jill Coughlan CBE as Headteacher to oversee Queensbury's conversion to an academy.

Helen Palmer was announced as the Interim Headteacher, alongside a number of changes to the school day.

Until 2013, the houses were named (with colours): Mead (green), Canesworde (yellow), Langdale (blue) and Hilton (red), after the four roads that surround the school site.