It continues in the ideals of Renaissance humanism, with Latin taught as the primary foreign language and Ancient Greek offered as an additional subject.

On the occasion of Pope Leo III’s visit to Paderborn in 799, Charlemagne made a donation to the monastery, which likely included the cathedral school.

Further early headmasters included Reinher of Paderborn (1140-1190), who found a better method for calculating the Easter date, and crusader Cardinal Thomas Olivier (1170-1227).

Following a period of decline during the 14th century, in competition with the appearance of universities, the school experienced a renewal under the rule of Bishop Salentin of Isenburg and headmaster Hermann von Kerssenbroch in the 1500s.

A notable alumnus from this time is the important baroque architect and general Johann Conrad Schlaun, responsible for such buildings as Schloss Münster and the Erbdrostenhof.

Protestant and Jewish pupils were now admitted and the curriculum modernised according to the Humboldtian model of higher education under Friedrich Kohlrausch.

From 2013 to 2014 the school worked in partnership with the Mildenhall College Academy, Suffolk to create a monument commemorating the Christmas Truce.