At the height of the Malayan Emergency in May 1954, Lt. General Sir Geoffrey Bourne, the military commander of the British Forces, officially opened a group of temporary hutments for the education of servicemen's children.

From that day the school grew in size and prestige until the name of Bourne became an accepted part of the educational pattern in Malaya and the Federal capital In September 1957 the first boarding houses were opened to accommodate the children of service families stationed elsewhere in Malaya.

In the same year Headquarters Malaya Command was moved to Seremban and, as the families gradually followed, the need for boarding accommodation increased.

Travel to and from the school for "Boarders" was by local transport Trains and Ferries from all parts of the Malay peninsula, for example lists were made showing students detraining at the Penang Ferry Rail Station Pupils returning from Bourne School at the end of term With the ending of the emergency and the run-down of British Military personnel in Malaya, the school opened its doors to fee-paying children of the many nationalities resident in Kuala Lumpur.

In 1964 Ivan Myall and Marion Jolley and Sheila Waterman swam for Malaya and were selected for the Malaysian Swimming Team.