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Didsbury (/ˈdɪdzbəri/) is a town within the city distict of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Manchester City Centre, and located near the southern edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area. It is a dormitory village comprising a resident population of just over 14,000 people. As a result of its commutership and relatively large student population, Didsbury is located on Wilmslow Road, which is reported by some analysts to be 'the busiest bus corridor in Europe'.

There are records of Didsbury being mentioned as early as the 13th century, with its early history dominated by its association with Withington under a feudal estate colonialism which covered other areas in the south of Manchester. During the 18th century, Didsbury was being described as a township separate from outside influence. By far the most notable event in recent history was the passage of Charles Edward Stuart when he crossed the Mersey at Didsbury in 1745, in the Jacobite march south from Manchester to Derby, and again in the subsequent retreat.

Didsbury was largely rural until the mid-nineteenth century, in which it experienced rapid socioeconomic development and urbanisation due to the Industrial Revolution, and Manchester's growing level of industrialisation. Introduced into the inner boundaries of Manchester in 1904, Didsbury was integrated into the city 45 years after it gained city status.

Education

Further information: List of schools in Greater Manchester

Fielden Campus, City College Manchester

Didsbury has a non-selective education system, assessed by the SATs exam. There are seven primary schools and two state comprehensive secondary schools: Parrs Wood High School, a specialist school in arts and technology, and The Barlow RC High School, a specialist science college. The Barlow RC High School is one of those chosen by Manchester Council to benefit from funding made available in wave 4 of the government's Building Schools for the Future programme, a national scheme for the refurbishment and remodelling of every secondary school in England. It is planned to replace all the current buildings, which date back to 1951. Parrs Wood and The Barlow were two of only six schools in Manchester to achieve the Manchester Inclusion Standard in 2007, awarded by Manchester Council to those schools doing innovative work to ensure that all their pupils are able to participate fully in the school’s activities.

Parrs Wood, with about 2,000 pupils on its register, is much larger than the average, and is heavily over-subscribed each year. It was described in its March 2001 Ofsted report as "a very good school with some excellent features". The Barlow RC High School is an average size secondary school, with about 1,000 pupils. It too is regularly over-subscribed. It was described in its October 2003 Ofsted report as "a successful and effective school that is providing a good education for its pupils".

There are two centres of higher education in Didsbury: City College, Manchester's Fielden Campus, which was opened in 1972 by Margaret Thatcher, mostly offers courses in communication and technology; and Manchester Metropolitan University's Didsbury Campus is home to the faculties of health, social care, and education, along with the Broomhurst Hall of Residence.