It resulted from a merger of the whites-only Summerlin Institute and Union Academy, a school for African Americans, after desegregation.

[2] Summerlin Institute was relocated to the corner of Broadway Avenue and Tharp Street, the current location of Bartow High School, in 1927.

[citation needed] In 1996, Bartow High School earned approval from the IBO to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma program.

The students pursuing this program are placed in the International Baccalaureate School, a school-within-a-school on the Bartow High campus.

In September 2021, a 15-year-old student was arrested after participating in the devious lick trend for damaging and stealing soap dispenses at Bartow.

[citation needed] The girls' softball team is the only school to have appeared in a FHSAA state championship game for 10 consecutive years (1997–2006), winning 7 of those matches.