Before the school's construction, the grounds on which it was built served many purposes, mainly as a place for military barracks used by the French when they arrived in Strasbourg in 1681.

Founded in 1815 in Strasbourg, the Ecole supérieure de jeunes filles (Graduate school for young women) was a small building in the Andlau sector.

Its goal was to give young girls and women a modern education, including a good knowledge of German and French.

In 1871, when the Germans decided to make Strasbourg the capital of the Alsace–Lorraine region, they wanted to install a new educational system, in which they believed young francophone girls should be taught by nuns.

Around that same time, the Ecole supérieure de jeunes filles became much too small for its students, which made finding a new building a necessity.

Settling on the deserted barrack grounds for its low price and good location, construction of the school in its present form started, and was completed just in time for the beginning of the 1902 term.

Right by the professor's entrance which was previously decorated with two owl statues (the mascots of the school), as well as the emblems of the city and the regions of Alsace and Lorraine, the principal's house is adorned with two sculpted medallions, which represent Fröbel and Pestalozzi, two Germanic educators of the 17th century.

The hallways are richly decorated, a crest above each door indicating which purpose said room served (an  instrument for a music classroom, for example).

The Spanish, Italian, Polish and Portuguese sections, while smaller, prepare their students for equivalents of their countries high school graduation exams.

For those who may want to better their linguistic skills, a series of either French or foreign exams( that are recognized in France as well as the country whose language is chosen) are also offered.