It was established in 1796 by Mary Tyrrell and the
Moravian Church, a Protestant organisation which originates in the 15th century, with 21 girls and 6 teachers.
Grammar school It was a girls'
high school, based at The Square. There were plans in 1965, by the divisional executive (for the Tameside area), for it to become a
sixth form college, to come into operation by 1967. The Lancashire Education Committee never approved the plan. It was administered by the Borough of Tameside from April 1974.
Comprehensive In 1975 the headmistress, Ruth Gleave, resigned and became head of
Bradford Girls' Grammar School (which became an independent school at the same time) in
Bradford, just before the school became comprehensive in 1979. The school lost its sixth form. The school was grant-maintained between 1993 and 1999. It then became a foundation school, and then a specialist
Science College in September 2004. ==Academy==