St Anthony's Catholic School was completed on 27th April, 1954 when St Anthony's became a parish in its own right.

The Foundation stone of the school was laid by Alderman John Sheehy, the Lord Mayor of Bradford, in 1953. It was dedicated by the Vicar General of the diocese, Monsignor Henry Thompson.

Mass had been celebrated in "The Barn" since 1948:

but then moved to the school :

and the first May processions took place from here :

The first parish priest was Fr Thomas Kearns, who is here pictured with the staff at St Anthony's school in 1961

Fr Kearns lived in St Anthony's convent, on Bradford Road, which was owned by the Franciscan Sisters of Littlehampton.

The first sisters at St Anthony's are photographed here in May 1954.

Left to Right: Sisters Raphael, Edmund, Agatha, Xavier

A church needed to be built, and the foundations were blessed in 1959:

The new church of St Anthony was designed by Mr J.H. Langtry-Langton Partners. It was opened on the 27th July 1961 by Bishop Dwyer of Leeds:

Father Kearns left St Anthony's in April 1966, and was succeeded by Father Patrick Henry (parish priest until 1982). The debt of the building of the church and presbytery was paid off by Christmas 1971, after a great push for fund-raising. This even included the visit of the former Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, who was then leader of the opposition, to the Summer Fayre:

The Church was finally consecrated by Bishop William Gordon Wheeler, Bishop of Leeds, on the 2nd October, 1974. This is what it looked like then:

A sad occasion was the funeral of Fr Brendan Lilly in April 1987. He had been the parish priest from 1982:

A happier time was the Silver Jubilee of Fr Francis McGrath, the parish priest from 1987 to 1997, on 20th June, 1990: