Established by Mar Charles Lavigne SJ, the then Vicar Apostolic of Kottayam, in 1891, is one of the oldest Catholic schools in Kerala.

Later, in 1922, A college was established on the cornerstone laid by Mar Charles Lavigne by Venerable Mar Thomas Kurialacherry on the same name, SB College Changanasserry, to provide higher education to the students of Malabar-Travancore region.

The boys' school was founded in 1891 by the French Jesuit Charles Lavigne, the first bishop of Changanacherry, as a residential (boarding) school on the wish of the commoners to provide their children access to primary education in English.

Currently, St. Berchmans is the Kottayam district nodal center of student career and counseling.

St. Berchmans was founded as a residential school and continues to operate a boarding house for students whose families live far away.