 St John Fisher, built at a cost of was £225,000, was designed to accommodate 500 pupils of secondary modern standard.George Dwyer, Bishop of Leeds, opened the school in 1958 to provide a Roman Catholic education to the children of the Heavy Woollen District.In 1958 the initial intake of pupils included children from St Joseph's (Batley Carr), St Mary's, St Paulinus, St Patrick's (Birstall) and Holy Spirit (Heckmondwike).