The school was initially named  Dow Hill School (between 1879–1888).It is among the oldest schools in India and along with its sister school Dow Hill Girls’ School it shares a unique historical background, milieu and heritage. Sir Ashley Eden, an official and diplomat in British India and the then Lieutenant Governor of Bengal started the school in 1879 for railway employees and later extended to the children of middle and lower income group government servants and was paid out of local funds. To serve the purpose a house named ‘Constantia’ was bought and was converted into a residential school.