Originally it only accepted the children of the British rulers of the island and was located within the medieval walls of Nicosia.

[4][5] It is a highly selective academic co-educational secondary school and most of its leavers attend universities in Great Britain.

This resulted in the parents removing students from the school and the number of Greek Cypriots attending fell from 317 to 21.

[9] In November 2006, Turkish Cypriot students were attacked at The English School by what was believed to be extremist members of "National Voice of Youth with a Greek Soul" (Ε.Φ.Ε.Ν).

At the time, The US Department of State released the following statement: "In April 2007 court proceedings began for 13 suspects charged with attacking Turkish Cypriot students.

On November 22, 2006, 15 to 20 Greek Cypriot teenagers, believed to be members of an ultranationalist group, National Voice of Youth with a Greek Soul, entered the English School in Nicosia and attacked a group of Turkish Cypriot students, causing minor injuries.

The Government condemned the November 22 attack as an aberration, not indicative of a broader atmosphere of discrimination or racial hatred against Turkish Cypriots.