The school was founded in 1973 as Rossett High School and is Harrogate's most recently built secondary school with additions to its original building since its construction.
In December 2010 the actor and gay rights champion Sir Ian McKellen visited Rossett School as part of his national campaign to tackle homophobic discrimination and bullying in Britain's schools.[3]
In 2012 the school began a scheme that allows pupils to bring iPads to school, either through purchase, renting, or borrowing from the school.[4]
In June 2019 a report by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) rated the school as Grade 3 (requires improvement) for overall effectiveness [5]