The boys' school opened on 12 September 1928, being officially opened on 23 October 1928 by Eustace Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Newcastle, and was on Great Stone Road west of Lancashire's cricket ground.

Nearby Trafford Park produced important materials for the war, not least Rolls-Royce Merlin engines made at Ford's factory.

The school was administered by the Stretford Divisional Executive of the Lancashire Education Committee.

Academically the school exam results are above national averages, with 92% of pupils achieving A*–C in at least five GCSEs (including English and Mathematics).

[citation needed] In March 2009, Stretford became the first grammar school in the UK to be placed under special measures, following a damning Ofsted report,[3] which cited low level behaviour problems, inadequate teaching, and poor leadership and management.