The history of the Alexander School begins in 1831, when the Alexandrinsky Orphan Institute was founded in Moscow, where children of officials who were orphaned during the Moscow cholera epidemic studied. In terms of structure and curriculum, this institution was similar to the cadet corps, and soon it was transformed into the Alexandrinsky Orphan Cadet Corps, and later into a military school. Children of nobles, who usually graduated from a military gymnasium, studied at the school for two years. The teaching staff of the Alexander School was very strong, and many prominent scientists were among the teachers of this educational institution.

During the First World War, the period of study was significantly reduced and amounted to only four months. There was a catastrophic shortage of officers in the Russian army, so not only noble youth, but also children of bourgeois and merchants became students of the Alexander School. At the time of the beginning of the October Revolution, Aleksandrovskoye released about twenty-five girls with the rank of warrant officer, most of whom died during the Civil War.

The Bolsheviks who came to power closed the Alexander School, but it was reopened in Yeysk, located in southern Russia, in the form of officer courses. The school's activities continued in exile: in the 1930s, Alexandrovets leaflets were published monthly in the Bulgarian city of Varna, and in 1950, the newspaper of the same name was published in Paris.

Built at the end of the 18th century, the building of the Alexander School has survived to this day. It now houses the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.