Medina High School was founded in 1976 on the current site. By the 1990s, the school suffered from a falling roll and finances, with Richard Williams brought in as head in 2002, the fifth head in 2 years. In 2004, blazers were reintroduced to replace polo and sweatshirts, with procedures from a number of schools include troubled school in
Birmingham introduced to help discipline. In 2008, the school was deemed "Outstanding" in an Ofsted inspection, something they have failed to achieve since. In September 2008, the school decided to pursue trust status, becoming a foundation school on 3 February 2009 and also a trust school, with partners
University of Portsmouth, the
Isle of Wight NHS Primary Care Trust, the Quarr Group, Solo Agency and
Quay Arts. The school also introduced International Baccalaureate courses. As part of the reorganisation of the education system on the Isle of Wight,
Island Innovation Trust (formerly Medina Innovation Trust), formed by the school's trust, was successful in their bid against Academies Enterprise Trust and again
Island Innovation Trust without a hard federation to take over the school. In 2011, the school opened with the age range extended to Year 7 to Year 13. It is now one of 5 secondary providers on the Isle of Wight, with the school in a hard federation with
Carisbrooke College. The Island Innovation Trust was later renamed the Isle of Wight Education Federation. In January 2010, the current head Richard Williams announced he would be stepping down no later than Easter and moving on to become principal of an academy school in Kent, partly influenced by the school's re-organisation. As Medina High School, the school was made a specialist
Arts College and received the
Artsmark gold award in 2007. The school has won medals in local and national trampolining competitions including the British Schools Trampolining Competition in March 2009. Also, Medina took part in the
White Air extreme sports festival held at
Yaverland. The school shares a 6th Form Campus with
Carisbrooke College on the former Nodehill Middle School site, known as Island Innovation VI Form Campus. The 2012 pass rates for the school were 32.5% 5+ A*-C including English and Maths for GCSE and 97.8% pass rate with 67% A* to C for A Level at Island Innovation VI, run by the college with Carisbrooke. Until his death on 18 March 2008,
Anthony Minghella served as the school's patron. On 1 September 2014, Nathan Thomas left his post as head teacher of the school. On the 28th of July 2021, along with other schools on the Island, Medina College was hit with a ransomware attack. ==Facilities==