The grammar school was established in 1674, following the death of William Harvey, the eminent physician and discoverer of the major details of blood circulation.

A small class with one schoolmaster was first created, until Eliab Harvey, William's nephew, acting as executor of his uncle's will, founded a larger school of the name.

The school motto 'Temaraire, Redoutable et Fougueux' is a composite of HMS Temaraire, and the two French Ships Harvey captured at the battle.

In July 1921, the body of the headmaster of the day, 43-year-old Major Harold Arthur Denham, was found in undergrowth in Hawkinge with self-inflicted bullet wounds.

In 1989, school buildings in the town centre, next to the Folkestone Library, were closed on completion of a new Science & Technology Block on the main site.

The school also boasts an adjacent sports field named in honour of long serving Head of PE Alan Philpott, with a cricket pavilion named after former pupil Les Ames (Kent and England wicketkeeper-batsman); money for this was raised by the Old Harveians Association under the leadership of its president, John Smith.

The pavilion was opened in 1997 by Colin Cowdrey in a ceremony also attended by Godfrey Evans, another famous former Kent and England wicketkeeper.

The sixth form wear a different, less strict but still formal suit of their choice, with a different tie which is plain black with the school badge insignia emblem.

It has reached more county football and cricket finals than any other school in Kent, a proud tradition largely established by long-standing Head of PE Alan Philpott (1957–92) (alumnus).

An annual Prizegiving Day is held at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone to recognise those boys who have achieved a high standard in academic and/or sporting activities.

[citation needed] The headmaster, chair of governors, head boy and guest speaker are invited onto the stage to make speeches and then prizes are presented to the recipients.

There is an extensive range of trips: to the United States for football and computing, to Barbados for cricket, and Barcelona and the Netherlands for hockey and basketball.

Three former staff and a pupil at the Harvey worked at the once secret code breaking centre at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, which was recently made public and has become a tourist attraction.

Although they worked closely in the school it was not until a discussion one day in Mr Berthoud's office that he managed to get Miss Wind to admit to her involvement and they spoke at length about their time there.