The Nicholas Gibson Free School was founded in 1536 by a prominent London citizen who earned his living as a grocer. On his death in 1549 Gibson's wife, Avice, took over the running of the School which could take up to sixty boys, although only 30 were free scholars. In 1552 she asked the Coopers' Company to undertake this task for her and thus the School included the Company's title in its name. The School was situated in Ratcliffe, a small parish bordering the Thames and the original site of the School is still traceable, fittingly in School House Lane in Stepney. The School remained there until 1892 when it moved to premises in Tredegar Square in Mile End, where it remained until the move to Upminster. Prisca Coborn, the widow of a brewer, founded a School for both boys and girls in 1701, as a result of the terms of her will published in the year of her death. The School was first housed in a site east of Bow Church, but it soon moved to a site between the Church and Bow Bridge. In 1814 the School moved to a site bounded by Old Ford Road and Fairfield Road, part of which was later to become the Bryant and May match factory (now a housing development), visible from the Eastern Region railway line into Liverpool Street. In 1870 the School moved to the site in Tredegar Square, later to be occupied by the Coopers' Boys' School. In 1891 the two Foundations were united. As the boys moved to Tredegar Square, Coborn, now an all-girls' school, moved to 86 Bow Road. In 1898 this school was relocated at 29-31 Bow Road, where it remained until the move to Upminster.

As a result of the amalgamation of the two schools, the new site was first occupied at Upminster in 1971, and by 1973 the whole school had moved onto the suburbs, where there are now over 1320 pupils. New buildings have regularly been erected – The McEwan Building for ICT in 1986, The Ratcliffe Building, housing the new Science Block, was opened in 1996; Science gained further accommodation with the Ansell Building added in 2006. The Prisca Coborn Building for Languageswas opened in 2002, The Nicholas Gibson Building for Music and The Palmer Pavilion in 2004, and an Art 6th Form Studio Extension in 2007. Plans are afoot for further modernisation and development of facilities.

We have invested significantly in developing our ICT facilities and now use technology extensively to support our management and teaching and learning systems. Our academic reputation is of great importance to us; so, too, is our reputation for being a school that cares for all the members of its community. We welcome students from all backgrounds and cultures. We ask only that they possess inquiring minds and the enthusiasm and determination to do their very best. In 2002 Coopers Coborn was pleased to be designated a Specialist Sports College. This does not mean that students have to be particularly gifted at Sports, but it does give us the facility to develop a range of sporting opportunities for our students. The extra-curricular achievements of the school in sport, music and dram are magnificent and comparable to any school in the country. In 2007 we were delighted to gain High Performing Specialist School status and took a second specialism, Humanities, which is currently being developed. In April 2009, the School was delighted to be awarded its third specialism, Training School.