The school is situated on Gressel Lane and is roughly one mile from Lea Hall railway station, operated by London Midland.

The famous Central Grammar School for Boys was founded in 1897 on Suffolk Street and relocated to Gressel Lane in September 1957.

A rocky beginning was brought about by the 9% pass rate for GCSEs in the July 2003 examinations, which resulted in the instant dismissal of the then-Principal, Sarah Harris.

The school struggled through September 2003, and after negotiations and an unfavourable contract with Ninestiles-Waverly Federation, the ISCCEB was accepted as the third member to "The Federation", an organisation set up by Sir Dexter Hutt, to assist failing schools to recover.

After months of negotiations and changes to the original plan, it was finally agreed 9 schools would be put forward for refurbishment by contractor Lend Lease.

Existing money (promised but with no worthy governance) to hard-working pupils & staff or as a means of driving up educational standards in disadvantaged areas (See What are academies?)

John Wakeley and Steve Walker had a very happy time in the English department in the same period.

The July 2007 examination results were that 50.5% of pupils passed with 5 (or more) A*-C grades at GCSE, an increase of 41% in 5 years.