George Dwyer, Bishop of Leeds, opened the school in 1958 to provide a Roman Catholic education to the children of the Heavy Woollen District.

This was marked by a number of special events, such as an open-air mass, a festival of sport and various pilgrimages by the different year groups in school.

However, only 38% of pupils achieved 5 A*-C including English and Mathematics, ranking St John Fisher 16th out of the 25 maintained secondary schools in Kirklees for this measure.

The Sixth Form performs a Live Crib at Christmas and a Re-enactiment of the Crucifixion on Good Friday, both outside the United Reformed Church in Dewsbury.

Although religious criteria apply to lower school admissions, the Sixth Form considers all applications and offers BTEC First Awards to those not achieving sufficient GCSE grades to study at A-Level.

Sixth Form A-Level curriculum includes the humanities, sciences, ITC, music, visual arts and design, PE, and Business Studies.