It was established in 1844 by Bishop William Piercy Austin as an Anglican grammar school for boys[1] and was aimed at educating the colonial elite.

[2] The school was temporarily quartered at what is the current location of the High Court before moving to another property at Main and Quamina Street until 1854.

The final move saw significant expansion of classrooms and facilities, however an arson attack destroyed 1997.

[1] The school has a House system of 10 houses, named in honor of famous people to the history of Guyana; William Exley Percival, Walter Raleigh, Bishop Austin, Benjamin D'Urban, Edward Oliver Pilgrim, Frederick Thomas Weston, Edwin Moulder, Charles Campbell Woolley, John Henry Dacres Cunningham, and Captain Howard Nobbs.

By convention, siblings are often put into the same house, and could also apply to other relatives and the children of previous students.