[1] Founded by the Sāsanādhāra Society in 1899 during the British colonial period, the school produced notable writers and politicians who played a role in the Burmese independence movement.

Before the British colonial period, the education system in Burma was primarily driven by Buddhist monasteries at least since the 11th century.

The Buddhist monastic school system gave Burma a literacy rate considerably higher than those of other Asian countries in the early 1900s.

In the colonial period, the British administration and Christian missionaries founded Western education centers including St. Patrick's School (now B.E.H.S.

The retreat of Buddhist monasteries left a vacuum in education, filled increasingly by Christian missionary schools.

[5] The Society in turn decided to establish the Buddhaghosa National School in 1899 with Yan Win as its headmaster, a position he held until his death in 1906.

One of the pioneers of Burmese literature, Sein Tin, commonly known by his pen name Theippan Maung Wa, matriculated from the school in 1919.

Unlike most renown high schools in Burma, it has maintained a diverse student body, covering all walks of life and ethnicity.

In a nod to its founding principles, the school celebrates the Burmese National Day Festival every year, featuring traditional games, foods and dances.

Firefighters and emergency responders were promptly dispatched to the scene, and their efforts led to the successful extinguishing of the fire by 5 AM on August 4,2023.

[10] In the early hours of 25 October 2023, U Thar Nyin Damayon with over a century of history, fell victim to an arson attack.