It was established by the 1938 merger of a government boys' secondary school, Montserrat Boys Grammar School and a private girls' secondary school. Originally not all Montserrat citizens had the right to a secondary education, and the school chose which students were admitted. A May 2011 Montserrat government report said that the school "produced excellent results and enjoyed national esteem" at the time. Wealthier families were the main clientele of MSS. The school has had multiple locations before settling in Salem. and its junior secondary being a lower section. The campuses together had 1,043 students in 1988. The volcanic eruption and population loss resulted in the dissolution of MSS's sixth-form college;
Montserrat Community College took over sixth-form studies after opening in 2004. The school has a single campus in Salem. By 2011 the teacher population had a lack of stability, contrasting with local-origin teachers of previous generations. In addition multiple "behavioral problems" had occurred "for several years". In 2011 there were 300 students; some of the school's students had
English as a second language as they were immigrants. ==Campus==