Opened in September 1912 as The County School, Whitby, the College began life as a co-educational grammar school, with about 300 pupils. In 1972, it received its first comprehensive intake and a new name – Whitby School. At this time, students also began to transfer at age 14, rather than age 11 as in the past.

In 1993, we became Whitby Community College. The governors were determined to encourage more people of all ages to take advantage of the opportunities the College could offer and widen the horizons of its students. Whitby Community College is a 14-19 community college and was designated as a Specialist Technology College in September 2002. The College was redesignated with joint status in July 2008 with Caedmon and Eskdale Schools but now operates without a specialism. It has a wide and varied curriculum at both Key Stage 4 and Post-16, and adult students are admitted to Post-16 courses.

In March 2004, the College signed a formal agreement with Caedmon and Eskdale Schools (both 11-14) to form a confederation. This resulted in increasingly close collaboration between the three schools, for the benefit of all our students. We were the first secondary schools in North Yorkshire to form such a partnership. This partnership continues as a informal joint collaborative arrangement between the three schools.

In Summer, Year 9 students experience a transfer to the College which is the result of careful collaboration between the three schools.

The College also works in close partnership with a range of other organisations. In particular, we are partners with Yorkshire Coast College, Malton Hair Academy and the Adult Education Service, which offers a wide range of provision for adults and young people. The College is also a member of two Teaching School Alliances; Wakefield City Academy/Leeds Metropolitan University and the proposed Esk Valley partnership. Mature students can join the College's day-time Post-16 courses, where they make a significant and enriching contribution.

The College strives for continuous improvement, aiming to bring leading edge teaching and learning to one of the most beautiful and historic places in the country.

The College had a full Ofsted inspection in December 2010 and was judged to be good with many outstanding features. In March 2012, the College had a subject inspection in Business, Economics and Enterprise and was judged to be good.

Link to the Ofsted Report.

The College celebrated its Centenary year in 2012, culminating in an awards' ceremony in September and the unveiling of a legacy object in the form of an outdoor seating arrangement for students. Students helped in the design and planning of the object.

A College Centenary exhibition is currently running at Whitby Museum until April 2013. If you have any information, photographs or documents from past decades at the College, please get in touch - we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by email using the following address: post@whitbycc.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.