St Wilfrid's was opened in 1963. In 1998, St Wilfrid's became a Language College[3] which offered six languages including French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian and Japanese. These courses have been discontinued in a bid to reduce costs.
The most recent OfSTED[4] and Section 48 Religious Education[5] inspection which identified the school as "friendly school where pupils are supported by caring staff who are focused on helping them to succeed".[6] St. Wilfrid's was awarded a second specialism as a Vocational specialist college which came into effect in September 2006. Courses on offer to pupils include: Health & Social care, Travel and Tourism, Performing Arts (Dance, Singing and Drama), IT for Practitioners, NVQ in European languages, NVQ Hairdressing, CISCO IT networking and Construction.
The school became an academy in November 2012. The school had its 50th birthday celebration in October 2013.
The school has had various leadership, uniform and management issues in the past.[7][8][9]
The school has launched a theatrical production every year for approximately 20 years; the plays and musicals always draw in audiences of local families and the parents of pupils. The most recent of these productions was "Musicals Through the Ages" which was performed on 7 and 8 February 2023. They also have a "St Wilfrid's Day" once per year (stopped during the Coronavirus Pandemic) to celebrate and gather students together.
The school has achieved several national awards including the Schools Curriculum Award, Sportsmark Award, the School Achievement Award given in 2002 and 2003 for outstanding improvements in GCSE results. The Arts CouncilArtsmark Silver award, the British Council International School Award for outstanding global links, the Ramseys Award given to the school with the best global video-conferencing facilities and programme, as well as the Investors in People Award recognising excellence in training and development for all teaching and non-teaching staff have also been earned.[2] In February 2007 the school was awarded the Arts Council Artsmark Gold award.
In 2006 the school was awarded a second specialism as a Vocational College. Vocational specialism means that the school offers a distinctive range of courses that provide opportunities for pupils to gain qualifications. All vocational courses follow a curriculum developed by exam boards with the help of employers. Wherever possible, links to the world of employment are emphasised; this may be visiting speakers, work placements, visits or real work. This means that in most cases pupils will be occupationally competent to carry out a job in their chosen career.
The ethos of a language college is widespread throughout school. The curriculum includes 3 Languages; French, German and Spanish, 2 of which are taught at key stage 3 as first and second languages. In key stage 4 the department offers 3 Languages at GCSE level.
NVQ level 1 language units qualification was introduced into the teaching of the department in September 2005. This has proven to be a success in both raising standards and motivating pupils to relate the learning of a language to a useful, practical and tangible work related environment. NVQ Level 2 qualifications were introduced in September 2006 and the school aims to extend its provision and training in NVQ in future years as it develops its vocational status.
At A2 level, French, German, Spanish and Italian are no longer taught.
