Its origins and development are inextricably linked with the ideas, activities and generosity of the ideologue of modern Bulgarian education Vasil Aprilov.

Its graduates are some of the most prominent Revival educators such as Neofit Rilski, Joseph Kovachev, Kalist Lukov, Tsvetan Semerdzhiev, etc.

With the help and donation of Vasil Aprilov and his closest associate and supporter Nikolay Palauzov, on April 24, 1840, the first public school library was established.

During his visit to Gabrovo in the summer of 1847, Vasil Aprilov opened a subscription list to raise funds for the construction.

The building was finally completed after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1880–1881, when its middle part was finished and a number of structural improvements were made.

The inherited tradition, the good teachers and the material base enabled the school to keep its position as one of the most elite in the country even after the Liberation.

The school's staff consisted of prominent pedagogues, specialists and public figures such as Trayko Kitanchev, Tsvetan Radoslavov, Evtim Dabev, Ivan Urumov, Stanimir Stanimirov, Sava Sirmanov and others.

Among its graduates are some of the leading Bulgarian intellectuals and public figures such as Aleko Konstantinov, Nikola Mihov, Stoyan Romanski, Anastas Ishirkov, Petko Staynov and others.

In 1996, a decision was made by the Gabrovo Municipal Council to return the school to its historic building in the city center, which for the previous few decades housed the National Museum of Education, founded in 1973.

On February 9, 1998, the President Petar Stoyanov together with the mayor Nikolay Dachev inaugurated the renovated historical building of the Aprilov High School.

Successful and accomplished students of the Aprilov High School return to tell about their path, the meaning of what they have achieved and the effort they have put into their careers.