Our History

The school has existed in different guises since 1882; initially it was known as Urmston Science and Arts School and was based on Flixton Road with 64 pupils. Its name changed to Urmston Higher Grade Elementary School in 1884 and the building was extended to Ross Grove.

The name Urmston Grammar School was first used in 1923; when the independent school had 228 fee paying students. Fees were dropped after the introduction of the 1944 Education Act, which guaranteed free education for every child in England and Wales.

In 1929 Urmston Grammar School moved from Ross Grove to our current site.

Urmston Grammar was initially a co-educational school until the 1960s when the local authority decided to created two single sex schools. This was not popular with the students who held a silent protest and walked through the streets of Urmston to try and maintain their co-educational establishment. However, the local authority went ahead with their plans and Urmston Grammar School for Boys was built at Bradfield Road and opened in 1961; the Girls School remained on the Newton Road site.

The single sex schools operated separately until September 1988 when the teachers from the Girls' School and the Boys' School started working on both sites. Full amalgamation was achieved in February 1991 and the two schools rejoined on the Urmston Grammar School for Girls site.

The building for the boys' school no longer exist and has now been replaced by a housing estate.

The traditional main building on Newton Road has had several additions over the last 40 years.

Urmston Grammar was awarded specialist Science College status in 2004. In 2007 it was awarded High Performing Specialist College status and was also awarded Language College status as a second specialism.

Urmston Grammar was one of the first 32 schools to become a converter academy in September 2010.
In 2023, we will be celebrating the centenary of the school – not the bricks and mortar, but a celebration of our ex-students who have made this school such a special place.