St Bede's opened in 1962 as a small Roman Catholic secondary school housed in one central building, under the leadership of headmaster K.G. Kent and around 18 nuns teaching and running the school. Over the years, the school began to admit students from other Christian denominations, notably the Anglican Church. In the light of the increasing ecumenical co-operation between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches the school was closed, re-opening in 1988 as a joint Catholic/Anglican foundation, St Bedes Inter-Church Comprehensive School, retaining most of the original staff, including the nuns, but with a new management. Gradually, the nuns disappeared, the last two leaving the school in 2001.