It was opened as "The Bishop's Stortford Secondary School for Girls" in 1909, the school was built to have an intake of around 120 fee-paying students, at the time of opening it was run by both the counties of Hertfordshire and Essex and therefore it later changed its name to the Hertfordshire and Essex Girls' High School. It then became a comprehensive in the 1970s when the school was renamed again to its current name The Hertfordshire and Essex High School.