[3] In 1975, the school ceased most operations due to the breakout of the Eritrean War of Independence, and most of the Italian community left.

It started as the Martini four-year state scientific senior high school.

[6] As of 2015, 85% of the high school's 330 students were Eritreans, with other nationalities making up the remainder.

[6] When the school was founded in 1903 it almost wholly served the children of Italian nationals.

Following World War II, the number of native Eritrean students steadily increased.