The school was founded in 1900 by an Anglican clergyman, Canon
Frank Darvall Newham and since its inception the school has offered a
British-style secondary level education. Originally it only accepted the children of the British rulers of the island and was located within the medieval walls of Nicosia. Over the years it accepted Cypriot pupils too and moved to its current premises in 1939. Although a boys school at first, girls were first allowed in 1957 into an affiliated school which was then incorporated as a co-educational school in 1962. The school started off as a private venture but control was transferred to the British Governor in 1930. Following independence from British occupation in 1960, control passed to the Cypriot Government. In 2007, the school's status and eligibility for state grants was challenged at the Supreme Court. It is a highly selective academic
co-educational secondary school and most of its leavers attend universities in Great Britain. Although previously a
boarding school, it currently operates as a day school.
Intercommunal history In 1958,
EOKA distributed a text threatening Greek Cypriots that attended the school. This resulted in the parents removing students from the school and the number of Greek Cypriots attending fell from 317 to 21. Following the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Turkish Cypriot students withdrew from the school. From September 2003, however, the school returned to its bi-communal status by re-enrolling
Turkish Cypriots. In November 2006, Turkish Cypriot students were attacked at The English School by what was believed to be extremist members of "National Voice of Youth with a Greek Soul" (Ε.Φ.Ε.Ν). This followed reports that a Greek Cypriot student had been spat at for wearing a cross. The attackers were not other English School students. At the time, The US Department of State released the following statement: "In April 2007 court proceedings began for 13 suspects charged with attacking Turkish Cypriot students. On November 22, 2006, 15 to 20 Greek Cypriot teenagers, believed to be members of an ultranationalist group, National Voice of Youth with a Greek Soul, entered the English School in Nicosia and attacked a group of Turkish Cypriot students, causing minor injuries. Reports in the Greek Cypriot press about an earlier incident at the same school, which reported that an 11-year-old male Turkish Cypriot student verbally insulted a Greek Cypriot student wearing a Christian cross, were blamed for inciting the latter event. The Government condemned the November 22 attack as an aberration, not indicative of a broader atmosphere of discrimination or racial hatred against Turkish Cypriots." ==Curriculum==