Construction The school was the first post-war secondary to be built in what was then the county of
Lancashire, estimated to cost around £116,000 (). Planned to include a model flat, science laboratories and open-air teaching spaces, the first foundation stone was laid by Sir James Aitken, chairman of
Lancashire County Council. Designed by county architect Noel Hill, the school ultimately cost £249,000 to construct and became the first large school to be built in Lancashire after
World War II and utilised modern methods of construction to achieve a simple design. The most expensive elements were the mandated construction of a brick wall along the boundary of the adjoining
convent and a sewer system around long. The foundations were laid in July 1947. Originally scheduled to be open by December 1947 as a 450 intake girls-only secondary modern, the school included an assembly hall, dining room, kitchen and staff blocks, among 10 classrooms facing south-east. Special mention was given to the stage and lighting equipment, which was described as being capable of "staging plays by repertory companies". The boiler house was situated beneath the stage and was described as being "one of the most up to date in the country" upon the school's opening. The first headmistress was Miss Jackson. The controversy began when teacher Alan Corkish publicly disclosed the school's punishment record, leading to his summons for a disciplinary hearing, which instigated protests by students in his support. Despite a 200-strong student walkout in support of Corkish in which the police were called, he was dismissed several months later without payment during his suspension period. His appeal to
Sefton Council was unsuccessful, prompting him to consider taking his case to the
High Court. Ultimately, Corkish won his case at the
Court of Appeal, with a ruling that Sefton Council had mishandled his dismissal. Supported by the
National Union of Teachers, Corkish was awarded legal costs and expressed his eagerness to return to teaching elsewhere. Corkish was subsequently again dismissed due to claims of misconduct and an appeal against the decision failed in November 1983. In response to the scandal, headteacher Eric Colley, who had originally introduced the slipper to replace the cane, proposed reinstating the cane in April 1981 to curb the use of slippering. By July, four teachers had been suspended. The school, labelled the "slipper school" by the
Liverpool Echo, was promised a £100,000 cash injection to help it recover, with educational authorities indicating expenditure on redecoration and modernisation to improve the school's image. The cost was ultimately over £350,000, attributed to the speed of improvements demanded by local councillors. The local education authority reported that other services may have been impacted to finance the work. In October 1981, a new headteacher, Gerald Banks, was appointed to lead the 1,000-pupil school, to start in January 1982. He was previously the headteacher of
Bridgefield Comprehensive School in Halewood and although supported corporal punishment, said he hoped it would not be required.
Later history In 1986, the school's sixth form was threatened with closure, to instead replaced by tertiary colleges at
Hugh Baird College and
Southport College respectively. The governors opposed the proposals and parents were hostile to the prospect of losing the sixth form, believing it would deprive children and their parents the choice of where they have their further education. Headmaster Gerald Banks accepted that falling rolls had meant that there were fewer students taking A-level courses, but appealed for more information about what Hugh Baird College could offer as an alternative. The council argued that projected pupil numbers heading into the 1990s meant that changes had to be made to deal with the "unacceptably small" numbers of students in Bootle, Litherland and Crosby sixth form centres. In 1991, Jim Donnelly took up the post of headteacher, reportedly inheriting issues of poor staff morale, inadequate facilities and low standards. Just under half of the students at the time were eligible for
free school meals and the area had high unemployment levels. Donnelly prioritised improvements to the school's environment and morale, with significant investment in computing resources. His efforts were recognised by Ofsted in 1998, who noted the school as an example for other schools to aspire to. The school was badly damaged in October 1997 when a fire, thought to have started in a woodwork workshop, was believed to have been started by arsonists. In February 2002, the school was awarded its specialist status as a 'Languages' college, with an assurance of £500,000 being spent over the following four years to enhance the language teaching facilities. ==New school building==