It was established in 1677 by local philanthropists, including Richard Lea, who donated the land for the school, and Francis Welles, who helped to fund the schoolhouse.

It was located at Egerton Lodge, Middlewich Road, before moving into a new set of buildings designed by George Gilbert Scott in 1851.

Boys are organised into four school houses – Craig, Lea, Ward and Welles, across Years 7–11.

A school existed in Sandbach as early as 1578, when the York visitation returns referred to a schoolmaster in the town.

It was not until 1677, however, when the grammar school was properly founded by Richard Lea, after he gave a piece of land for the schoolhouse.

In 1718, a deed was drawn up that demonstrated how the school should be managed and gave instructions for the appointment of governors and a master.

[9] 1979 saw the school enter into a new agreement with the LEA that it would have an all-ability intake of boys from a defined area of south-east Cheshire.

[16] Whilst serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Crewe, Craig maintained a strong connection with the school, acting as a Governor and had become involved in the administration of house events and associated awards.

Lea house is named after Richard Lea, a local business man who donated a plot of land to educators on Middlewich Road to develop his vision for young boys from poorer backgrounds to have access to education.

[17] In 1718, Dr. Charles Ward of Bradwall left a sum of £200 in his Will upon his death, which was stipulated to be used to pay for the board and education of three boys in particular “until they were fit for one of the universities.”[18] These boys became known locally as ‘Ward’s Scholars’ and all went on to study at universities once they had left Sandbach School.

The school has a number of sports teams, including in rugby union, association football, field hockey, badminton, athletics, cricket, swimming, cross country, and golf.

[30] Sandbach School has an international reputation for drama and music, touring to Hong Kong, New Zealand and Brazil, and performing shows in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

In Edinburgh, the school's 2004 performances of Macbeth and The Madness of King George III both garnered 4-star reviews within the fringe press.

Following this, in 2006 the performance of the original play Oedipus, written by former pupil and future teacher Andrew Cargill, was also given a 4-star rating in the magazine Three Weeks.

Ut Severis Seges also toured to the Edinburgh Fringe alongside the school theatre group in 2006, with a production of Amadeus.

In recent years the group has worked with many of the country's leading musicians including Georgie Fame.

The Big Band have been winners of the Cheshire East Schools' Music Competition for the past 3 years (2010 to 2012).

The school band toured in Germany in October 2005, and formed a partnership with Leibniz Oberschule in Berlin.

[38] Since 2005, an exchange visit to Berlin and regular contact via e-mail and video conferencing has helped Sandbach pupils in their German studies.