In 1974 a group of parents from Abbey Gate School formed a committee to establish an Abbey Gate Upper School. The aim was to offer a grammar school curriculum in a co-educational setting and bring out the best in each child according to individual potential. There was no one offering this in the Chester area at that time. Many sites were investigated including Deeside House being sold by Bee’s Nursery near Sealand. After many meetings with retired school inspectors, heads of local schools, and officials, the “New School Founders Association” set up the company Deeside House Educational Trust Ltd., and successfully applied for charitable status.
The purchase fell through, and an unsuccessful bid was made for the Saint Ursuline Convent, when Saighton Grange came on the market. The vendors decided to offer a leasehold which was negotiated for 250 years with a single premium, meaning no rent had to be paid, but with a repair covenant in lieu. The Convent then kindly offered gym equipment, desks, books, and a grand piano all worth thousands and accepted a bid of £250! The Founders transported these in a well-scrubbed cattle truck!
Negotiations for the lease took a long time and £120,00 had to be found and a bond arrangement was set up with £2500 for each child with no further fees for 5 years. 47 signed up for the bond, including those whose children wouldn’t come for several years. The lease was finally signed on the 2 September and Abbey Gate College opened on 8 September 1977 with 62 pupils who, with parents, friends and members of the Board of Governors had to help move the school furniture in and clean the premises the Saturday before! The event was marked by a reporter and camera from the BBC’s Look North. The first Head was Mrs Margaret Caven and the guest at the first speech day in November 1978 was Earl Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster. By then the school had 100 pupils in 5 forms.
Over subsequent years the school has grown and invested in developing its facilities, financed from surplus income and prudent bank borrowing. Two new science labs were added in 1980. The Sports Hall opened by the Duchess of Westminster in 1994 with a new Infant and Junior department using the two classrooms on the first floor. The Aldford site for the Infant and Junior Department opened in 1997 with a new Infants building in 2018. The Arts and Media Centre opened in 2004, with a phase 2 in 2008, the new Pavilion opened in 2016 and the All-Weather pitch in 2018.