The College opened on St David’s Day, 1848 in a building called the Depot near Llandingat Church. The first Warden took his forms upstairs, while the junior school occupied the ground floor. Mathematics – such as were then taught – found shelter in a shed outside. Three years later the School moved into its present buildings, which consisted of a school hall (now the Library) and a few classrooms. Boarders lodged in houses in the town until 1875, when the system was abolished as far as possible.

In 1903 the ‘New Buildings’ were opened: they consisted of the dining hall, the area currently used by members of staff and the entrance from the main quad and the concourse. The building now used for Music was also added at this time, and it served as a gymnasium with two fives courts. The dormitories above the dining hall, Cawdor, Dolaucothi, Llewelyn and Llandaff were used by the younger pupils, who then progressed to the top floor – Evans and Tredegar, or ‘New Dorm’. The seniors slept in the old part of the school, Classroom, Gwent, Seniors and the tower dormitories. Some senior boys were chosen to live in Llandingat House.

Tŷ Ddewi was opened in 1961, and this resulted in a complete change in the house system. Llandingat became the junior boys’ house, and pupils from Form 3 upwards went into one of three main houses, Tŷ Cadog, Tŷ Ddewi or Tŷ Teilo. A fourth house, Tŷ Illtyd, was created in 1968.

The first girls also arrived in 1968, and were accommodated initially in the Warden’s house, moving later to Windermere House, at the junction of New Road and Stone Street. Tŷ Llanofer was opened in 1989 as a girls’ boarding house.