It was founded in 1836 by Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, and is the oldest continuous secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago.

[2] The school is governed by a Board of Management appointed and chaired by the Archbishop of Port of Spain.

[3] In her book Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870–1900, Bridget Brereton wrote: "When the school was opened in 1836, it was strictly denominational.

[4]" The following is a list of some of the main milestones in the school's history:[5] Admission to Form 1 is determined by performance on an examination, known as the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) which is organized and adjudicated by the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago.

The SEA comprises three papers that must be attempted by all candidates - Creative Writing, Mathematics and Language Arts.

[9] Forms 4–5[10] - At the end of Form 3, students choose specialties, around a core group of subjects - English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, one foreign language (Spanish or French) and one science subject (Biology, Chemistry, Physics).