It is the oldest school, public or private, in Melbourne's outer east, and now has 1400 students alone on its Dandenong site on the north side of the Princes Highway.

The foundation stone of the Administration Building (A Block) was laid on 21 November 1919 and the school was officially opened in late 1920.

The first Headmaster of Dandenong High School was Percival Charles William Langford, who served in the 4th Light Horse Brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force[3][4] and saw action in France and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.

With the regeneration of the school came seven brand new houses – Banksia, Callistemon, Eucalyptus, Hakea, Darwinia, Fern and Grevillea, all named after Australian flora.

The college established Literacy and Numeracy Centres to promote crucial educational skills to its mainstream and many special needs students.

Cleeland Secondary College was the first school to offer, in conjunction with Chisholm Institute, the new Vocational Education Training (VET) course in Information Technology/Multimedia.

A new double-gymnasium, performing arts/drama centre, 350-seat auditorium and sporting ovals/fields will be constructed on the site, as part of the Stage 3 building works.

The construction of a federally funded Language Centre is nearing completion on the Ann Street site.

Subsidised bus services, trains and school buses from Dandenong railway station brought children to Doveton.

Stage 1 of the building program was completed in early 2009, including the construction of Banksia, Darwinia and Callistemon Houses, and also the extension and refurbishment of the current Library Resource Centre.

In years 11 and 12, however, class sizes are capped at 25 students to one teacher, due to the complexity of the VCE, VCAL and VET elective programs.

Students will be based in their Houses for around 65% of the time, whilst specialty subjects such as Food Technology and Art will be conducted in their respective wings and buildings.

The new Dandenong High School Houses, or Learning Centres, are named after Australian native plants.

[7] The Ann Street Campus comprises the old buildings from the former Cleeland Secondary College as well as football fields and basketball courts.

[8] In August 2009, Dandenong High School, in conjunction with its architect Hayball Pty Ltd and interior designer Mary Featherson, received an award from the Victorian Chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International.

Education Minister Bronwyn Pike said that, "The awards showcase innovative building design that reflects the 21st Century learning occurring in our Victorian schools".