This school was founded by the
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers). The
Catholic lay religious congregation of
pontifical right for men was established by
Saint Jean-Baptiste when it first came to Turkey in 1841. Pensionnat Saint-Joseph, a school for boys, was first established in Pera, now
Beyoğlu, in 1857. Its successor Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes was established in 1860. At one time it moved to a rental property in
Moda, Kadıköy but in 1864 it returned to Pera as it could no longer occupy the building, as the owner had sold it to someone else.
Sultan Abdulaziz permitted for the school to build its own building in 1864, but he had to issue another declaration doing the same in 1870 as the original declaration disappeared. 16 August 1870 was the start of construction. It established a campus in Pera. Accordingly 1870 is listed as the founding year of the school. The society has since opened schools in
Izmir and
Istanbul. Currently, the society has 7,225 members, 60,000 teachers, and 785,127 students. They have 1,800 schools in 84 different countries. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1921, 100th in 1971 and 125th in 1996. In 1987, the school began to also admit girls as students. The idea for this center, now on the ground floor of the school, was born following an examination by professors from
Istanbul Technical University, who were invited to assess the physical condition of the collection, and later, following remarks by experts from the
National Museum of Natural History in Paris, who stated, “You have a priceless collection in your hands.” The center was designed by mathematics teacher Yaprak Bener Chapdelaine and biology teacher Laurent Chapdelaine. Xavier Filoreau spent five years restoring the pieces that were exhibited at the museum. The center is referred to as a "center" rather than a museum because it is not affiliated with the
Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. ==Notable pupils==