The school was named after school board member George Cameron Scarborough. Its first principal was W. L. Fromein. Scarborough was founded on a plot on May 27, 1968. The school relieved
Waltrip High School. Originally, the plan was for both a junior and senior high school, but it became a high school in 1979 when Clifton Middle School opened. Scarborough was named a 1986-87
National Blue Ribbon School. In 1999 Scarborough had 958 students. That year, there were 16 students who had previously attended private schools. 14 students who previously attended private schools began attending Scarborough in 2000. In 2007, a
Johns Hopkins University study commissioned by the
Associated Press cited Scarborough as a "second rate school In 2008 the school had a per student cost of $5,442, with 890 students attending the school. In 2014 the district scheduled the elimination of the Scarborough architecture program for the 2015-2016 school year. ==Neighborhoods served==