The school was established in 1895 as a girls' day school on Park Road, Peterborough, and moved to the present ten-acre site at Westwood House, Thorpe Road in 1936. The school was originally called "Peterborough High School" and changed its name to "Westwood House" in 1936. In 1991 the name changed to "Peterborough High School". The school became a charitable trust and was incorporated into the "List of Woodard Schools" (Woodard Corporation) in 1968. The school is managed by its own governing body, some of whose members are Woodard Fellows.