The history of our school begins in the year 1897, when Dr Włodzimierz Hanakowski had the idea of setting up The Polish High School Society in Oświęcim. Up until that time there had been no high school in Oświęcim, so it was difficult for young people to get a proper education after primary school. The Society was officially founded twelve years later in 1909 and its first chairman was Roman Mayzel, the mayor of Oświęcim.
In 1915 the first class of the new high school was opened for pupils. The first headmaster was Felix Tobiczyk. The school building was located on Dąbrowskiego Street and was really small – it had only two classrooms and a physics lab – small enough to be nicknamed “the henhouse” by its pupils. The school needed a new building and the officials decided it would be best to build a new one specifically designed to suit its purpose. Construction started in 1930 and in 1932 the new school building was ready. On the 11th of June 1933 the school got its first standard.
During World War II the school was used to lodge the Nazi Schutzpolizei and later became a school for German children. Eleven teachers as well as many pupils and graduates died during the war. The school was reopened on the 1st of March 1945.
In 1945 the school became public. Its patron had been Stanisław (Stanislaus) Konarski since 1926, but from 1950 to 1980 our school was deprived of its patron for political reasons. The east wing, hall of school history and gymnasium were added during the second half of the twentieth century. Two new standards replaced the original which was lost during the war. In 1990 the “Pro Memoria” monument was erected on the parish cemetery and dedicated to the memory of those who had done their best for the school.
Among the many organizations affiliated with our school, the most important is the Konarski High School Friends Association, founded in 1989 and originally chaired by Stefan Piotrowski. Radosław Włoszek, the association’s current chairman continues the tradition begun in 1994, granting the best pupil of each graduating class the “Primo Inter Optimos” (the best of the best) award. The first student to get this award was Thomas Czerw. “Teatr na Stronie”, the school drama club, has been active since 1983.