The first public school opened in Victoria in 1852. In 1869, the city was formally defined as a "Common School District" and in 1884 Victoria was designated a "City School District."
In 1946, the City School District of Victoria joined with the municipal districts of Esquimalt, Saanich, and Oak Bay to form a new administrative unit known as School District 61 (Greater Victoria).
Over the years, approximately seventy-five different public schools have provided instruction to students within the present-day boundaries of Greater Victoria School District No. 61.