The school has a sixth form in addition to years 7 to 11. Almost two-thirds of the school's pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, and approximately 30% of all pupils have a first language other than English, significantly above the national average.^[1]

The first head master was Albert Dakin. The first foundation stone of the school was laid on 1 July 1927. The building cost £40,745, and was built by Lancashire County Council. The boys' school opened on 12 September 1928, being officially opened on 23 October 1928 by Eustace Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Newcastle, and was on Great Stone Road west of Lancashire's cricket ground. The girls' grammar school was called Stretford Girls' High School on Herbert Street, and opened in 1923.

In January 1941 the site of the girls' school was destroyed by bombing. Nearby Trafford Park produced important materials for the war, not least Rolls-Royce Merlin engines made at Ford's factory. A new girls' school was built on a different site near Longford Park and south of Edge Lane (A5145): the former site was turned into playing fields. The school was administered by the Stretford Divisional Executive of the Lancashire Education Committee. From April 1974, it was administered by Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council.

Until its merger in 1986 with Stretford Grammar School for Boys, it had been known since 1960 as Stretford Grammar School for Girls (both schools changed their name at the same time). The site of the boys' grammar school then became Stretford High School, a community secondary school.

In 1988 there were plans to build a CTC on the boys' school site, which were dropped. At the time of the merger, six secondary schools closed in Trafford, with the loss of 4,500 school places.

Academically the school exam results are above national averages, with 92% of pupils achieving A*–C in at least five GCSEs (including English and Mathematics).^[2] The school's value added score is below the local authority average.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2009, Stretford became the first grammar school in the UK to be placed under special measures, following a damning Ofsted report,^[3] which cited low level behaviour problems, inadequate teaching, and poor leadership and management.^[1] The school had been assessed as "satisfactory" in its March 2006 Ofsted report,^[4] and left Special Measures Status in March 2010. In 2012, two-thirds of students achieved the target of 5A/A* grades; a quarter of students achieved at least 10 grades at A/A*.^{[citation needed]}

• Kay Adshead, actress and director
• Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Bagnall GBE, KCB, Station Commander of RAF Leuchars from 1987 to 1990, AOC of No. 11 Group RAF from 1994 to 1996, and Commander-in-Chief of RAF Strike Command from 2000 to 2001
• Alfred Bates, Labour MP for Bebington and Ellesmere Port from 1974 to 1979 (later Trafford MBC councillor from 1992 to 2000)
• Ahmad Benali - former Manchester City footballer
• Brenda Dean, Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, trade unionist (left school at 16)
• Sir Tony Lloyd, Labour MP for Stretford from 1983 to 1997 and Manchester Central from 1997, was a pupil from 1962 to 1969.
• Jonathan D'Laryea, footballer
• Nathan D'Laryea, footballer
• Ernest Marples, UK Conservative Minister of Transport from 1959 to 1964, and MP for Wallasey from 1945 to 1964. Marples was responsible for introducing parking meters, yellow no-parking lines and motorways.^[5]
• Adie Mike, footballer
• Ian McShane, actor
• Debbie Moore OBE, businesswoman
• John Mulkern CBE, JP, managing director and board member British Airports Authority 1977–1987, Chairman British Airports International 1978–82, President Western European Airports Association 1981–83^[6]
• Peter Noone, singer Herman's Hermits, 1959–64
• Prof John Tomlinson CBE, Professor of Education from 1985 to 1997 at the University of Warwick, Director of Education for Cheshire from 1972 to 1984, and Chairman of National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling (NICEC, and part of the Careers Research and Advisory Centre) 1985–89
• Brian Trueman, presented Screen Test in the early 1980s and worked with Cosgrove Hall Films, narrating 1970s and 1980s cartoons
• Rear-Admiral John Trythall OBE CB^[7]
• Sir Arnold Wolfendale, Astronomer Royal

• Official website
• EduBase