Technical education was first proposed in 1953 to meet Singapore's need for skilled technical labour. However, it was only in 1956 that the first two technical schools, Queenstown Secondary Technical and Tanjong Katong Technical schools were established.
264 students from both schools initially shared premises at the former Jalan Eunos School and Kallang West School until 1957, when both acquired their own premises.
Queenstown Secondary Technical School was officially opened on 14 January 1957 at Strathmore Avenue. Such technical schools assumed great importance with the industrialisation programme in the 1960s, when they trained skilled technicians and engineers to meet the industries' demands. The school which started as an all-boys school became a co-education school from 1971 in response to changing needs. It was renamed Queenstown Secondary School in 1993 as the school had evolved to offer both academic and technical education.