In 1787 SXI began as a Melayu Medium school, in a hut in a jungle clearing. In 1825, as an English medium school it was named St. Francis Xavier's Free School, and April 20th 1825, the de la salle Brothers took over the direction of the school and its 80 pupils. In 1857 it was relocated in a building 30x50 metres of Farquhar Street. The Island was pectiferous : the town unsanitary and the mortality high. But SXI was progressive, it entered its pupils for government scholarships for the prestigious Queen's  Scholarships, and from 1892 for the Cambridge exams. The building was enlarge, and in 1900 the enrolment was over 400.
About 1900 on account of the tin miners, rubber estates and the Federated Malay States (FMS-Railway) Penang became an important port. Strict health regulations, the invention of motorcar, the need for rubber tyres and electricity, all these brought prosperity to Penang. SXI had over 1000 pupils, hygiene was a compulsory subject : pupils attended morning and afternoon sessions : and the building was an imposing edifice. The boarding department was flourishing, the school has a spacious playing field and a cadet CORP was formed. But in December 1941, SXI was bombed and ceased to function during the Japanese occupation years.
After the war, SXI was housed in huts on the school field pending the completion of the new building. The secondary had "forms" and the primary schools had "standards". SXI had its own laboratories and workshops : a canteen replaced the hawker system. The school uniform was compulsory, elaborate perfect and monitor system was established : school games and athletics were more organized. SXI had Form-6, and Bahasa Melayu became the medium of instruction. Xaverians are advance while the Xaverians of 1787 were isolated and the present SXI is in a concrete jungle no distance from anywhere.

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