Grammar school

In 1883 it became Carlisle Grammar School and moved to Strand Road, into what is now the Carliol Building of the school, housing the Sixth Form Centre. Since that time, governors continue to be appointed by the Cathedral Foundation. The analogous girls' school was Carlisle County School for Girls, which became St Aidan's County High School.

Comprehensive

As the movement towards comprehensive schools took shape, in 1968 the grammar school amalgamated with two local schools, the Margaret Sewell School (for girls) and the Creighton School (for boys), to become Trinity School, a Church of England comprehensive school, with all of the sites along Strand Road.

In the 1990s, Trinity School became grant-maintained, until 1999 when it became a Church of England Voluntary Aided School.

In 1998 the school was awarded Specialist School status and was designated as a Language College.

Recent developments include the Uganda Project,^[3] the USA Exchange Scheme, and overseas visits and links.^[4]

The school became a Church of England converter academy in September 2011.

The Armstrong Building

This new building was opened in 2011 as the new Science and Technology centre for the school. It was the major part of the £20m rebuild programme that was officially opened by the Duke of Kent in October 2012.

The Chapman Library

This purpose-built Library is the main school library. It was opened in 2001 and is named after the former Chair of Governors, Canon Rex Chapman. It has a stock of over 10,000 items including fiction, non fiction and reference books, as well as networked computers.

The Carliol Library

This library is a learning resource centre with study areas designed for use by sixth form students.

Former Masters

• Cyril Broom, Headmaster of Emanuel School from 1928 to 1953 (taught classics from 1911 to 1913)
• Victor Ehrenberg (taught classics in 1941)
• John Howard
• H. J. R. Murray (in the late 1890s)

Former Headteachers

• Ambrose Wilson (1880–1885)
• Edmund Arblaster (1885-1890)
• Frederick Hendy (1895-1901)
• Charles Padel (1912-1932)
• Victor Dunstan (1932-1962)
• DJW Williams (1962–1977)
• J Thorley (1977–1982)
• BD Dexter (1982–1997)
• MA Gibbons (1997–2001)
• J Williamson (2001-2002)
• AP Mottershead (2002–2014)
• D Kay & S Johnston (2014–2019)

Carlisle Grammar School

• Gordon Adam — former Labour MEP for Northumbria.
• Keith Batey — World War II codebreaker.^[6]
• David Beattie — venture capitalist with Grosvenor Development Capital.
• Roger Bolton — Radio 4 presenter.
• Joseph Dacre Carlyle — Arabic scholar.^[7]
• Thomas Heathfield Carrick — painter.
• Sir Ian Carruthers — NHS executive, acting Chief Executive of the NHS in 2006.^[8]
• Mandell Creighton – historian and Bishop of London^[9]
• Hunter Davies — Beatles biographer, married to Margaret Forster (also from Carlisle).^[10]
• William Farish — chemist.
• Sir Brian Fender — Chairman of BTG from 2003 to 2008 and former Vice-Chancellor of Keele University.
• William Frankland, MBE — allergist.^[11]
• George MacDonald Fraser OBE (1925-2008) — screenplay writer.
• Prof Michael Goodfellow OBE
• Reginald Hill — TV writer of Dalziel and Pascoe.
• Rt Rev William Warren Hunt — Bishop of Repton from 1965 to 1977.
• Ifor James — musician.
• Sir John Laing CBE — civil engineer, who developed John Laing plc.
• Roger Liddle, Baron Liddle — Labour Party adviser.
• Ronald McLean F.R.I.C.S. - President Waddington McLean & Co. - Canada's foremost fine art auction house.
• Rt Rev Robert Nelson — Bishop of Middleton from 1958 to 1959.
• Sir John Fearns Nicoll — Governor of Singapore from 1952 to 1955.
• Gordon Preston — mathematician.^[12]
• Herbert Ponting (briefly) — photographer.
• Derek Ratcliffe — conservationist.
• Eric Robson — Gardeners' Question Time host.^[13]
• Thomas Story — English Quaker convert and friend of William Penn.
• Sir Godfrey Tearle (briefly) — actor.
• Charles Terrot — Scottish Episcopalian minister, theologian and mathematician.
• Rt Rev John Thomas — Bishop of Rochester from 1774 to 1793.
• Neil Turner — Labour MP for Wigan from 1999 to 2010.^[14]
• Allen J Scott — distinguished Professor, Depts of Geography and Public Policy, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Trinity School

• Lee Brennan — former member of 911.
• Roxanne Pallett — actress from Emmerdale.
• Andrew Johnston — treble singer on Britain's Got Talent.