Founded in 1487 by former Lord Mayor of London Sir Edmund Shaa, it is the second oldest in the North of England, after Lancaster Royal Grammar School, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

[2][3] Five years after the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths met to discuss the possibility of transferring the school to a different site, new buildings open where Greek Street meets New Wellington Road.

As well as paying for the building, the Goldsmiths also increased the salaries of the headmaster and usher and paid the running costs.

[citation needed] The main school building was constructed with a Victorian neo-Gothic style of architecture.

[5] The build was completed in June 2012, and the "black and white tower" and classics block were demolished later that year.

[9] In 2010, the school issued its 1000th Duke of Edinburgh Award,[10] a milestone which was marked by the visit of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

At 2008's conference, Labour MP and former home secretary David Blunkett was the school's guest speaker.