Didsbury education in Didsbury: The Manchester College, (formerly City College Manchester) Fielden Campus, which was opened in 1972 by Margaret Thatcher, offers a variety of courses including communication and technology; and Manchester Metropolitan University's Didsbury Campus, the former Didsbury School of Education, is home to the faculties of health, social care, and education, along with the Broomhurst Hall of Residence. Parrs Wood, with about 2,000 pupils on its register, is much larger than the average, and is regularly over-subscribed in Year 7. In its 2007 inspection report by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) the school
Didsbury was variously referred to as Dydesbyre, Dydesbiri, Didsbury or Dodesbury. A charter granted in about 1260 shows that a corn-grinding mill was operating in Didsbury, along the River Mersey, but the earliest reference to Didsbury is in a document dating from 1235, recording a grant of land for the building of a chapel. The church was named St James Church in 1855. It underwent major refurbishment in 1620 and again in the 19th century, although most of the stonework visible today dates from the 17th century. A parsonage was built next to one of the two public houses that flanked