It opened in 1962 as the city's second state secondary school, supplementing Heretaunga College in Wallaceville.

As of November 2024, the school has a roll of 1,113 students from years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18).

On the evening of 1 September 2019, a fire was started in one of the classrooms in the technology block, and quickly got out of control.

The school ended up being closed for a number of weeks, due to safety concerns raising from the fire.

The junior school was broken up, and spread out to two different sites so that teaching and learning could be carried on.