The school was formally founded by its first principal, Commander Trevor De Almeida, on 18 January 1962, when the first batch of 205 students had joined.

[1] [2] The building which is now Sainik School was originally named Alak Appala Kondayamba Vijayaram Palace.

As a tribute to the Royal Family, the original crest and motto of the Gajapathi dynasty was adopted by the school from its inception.

The Palace was a center for games and sports, where all-India tournaments were conducted, and sportsmen from all over India came to participate and enjoy the princely reception till about 1933 The school now sends around 600 students into the National Defence Academy.

The instructional block is a two-storied building with classrooms, laboratories, an art and craft gallery and academic departments.

The school has an auditorium with a capacity of 650, a swimming pool, eight dormitories for the cadets, a cadets' mess (Almeida Hall - named after the first principal), a library, a sports ground of around 50 acres (200,000 m2), a tennis court, a squash court and two children's parks.

They include painting, woodwork, photography, philately, music, dance, band, aero-modelling, ship-modelling, and radio ham.

Students have also been selected by the Government of India to represent the nation at Youth Exchange Programmes between countries.

Some of the theater dramas with a strong social message have been performed at district and state-level festivals.

The school is a regional chapter of the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture amongst Youth (SPIC-MACAY) and has hosted classical artists of international repute, where students are given lessons by the best in the field Emphasis is given to sport in the school and participation by all boys in at least one game is compulsory.

Association Saikorian is involved in charity work especially in helping children of the underprivileged get access to an education.