On July 17, 1996, Gloria Christian School was opened in West Surabaya, precisely at Jalan Kupang Indah (Kupang Indah St), taking in the space previously held by Surabaya International School.

The school hosts both an indoor and outdoor sports hall, as well as 4 laboratory, each for physics, biology, chemistry, and computing.

Both students and teachers may choose a dish and a dessert from 3 designated points, often serving different styles of cuisine (e.g. Chinese, Western, Japanese, Indonesian, etc.).

[11][12] In terms of academics, prospective students are required to designate their desired major for their time in school.

[11] The school also obliged its students to take the HSK Chinese Proficiency Test with a minimum entrance of Level 3 or B1 in CEFR.

More recently, recognising its students increasing international output, the school has also introduced a mandatory IELTS examination that would be taken on year 12.

[13] Gloria 1 invest heavily in finding pupils with incredible sporting talent, often offering 100% scholarship for people all over Indonesia.

Its alumni has often went on a scholarship for their exceptional talent in sports, and some have even went to the United States to train under the league's flagship program – the DBL Camp.

Outside of basketball, the school also provides extensive training for futsal, table tennis, badminton and chess.

This includes: Volleyball, Badminton, Table tennis, Futsal, Photography, Videography, Environment, Bands, Arts & Crafts, Book Club, Culinary art, Computer Programming, Choir, Classical Guitar, Cheerleading, Cooking Class, Fashion Design, Sewing, Robotics and Basketball.

Within the school itself however, the uniformed group was founded in 2004 as the Boys' Brigade 7th Surabaya Company, where it operated in a limited, and often, voluntary capacity.

[19] In 2010, the school made it mandatory for its students to serve within the cadet to train their leadership, obedience and strength.

Older and senior Boys' are allowed (if nominated by the company) to gain promotion into a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), where they will be trained and assessed in the Leadership Development Camp for 3 days, often with hardships involved.

NCO serves as the first point of contact if officers are not on duty, and often held leadership position within the Brigade's parade and (to a certain extent) within the school system itself.

[22] In STEM, its students have won over a dozen of gold, silver and bronze medal in the Indonesian Science, Mathematics and Business Olympiad.

[30] In sports, the school has held 5 titles (2011, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023) in the Development Basketball League[13] During the COVID-19 pandemic, its teachers published a research on the management of medical mask waste in schools, which received 3rd place in the Teacher's Publication Development, held by Petra Christian University.