The land for the school was bought in 1928 by the Salesian Provincial, and the church was built in 1937. It became the first parish church in the country dedicated to St. John Bosco. The technical school was begun in 1937 and started functioning in 1939. The school was closed for four years from 1942 to 1946 for use by the army during the Second World War.

It was recognized by the Government in August 1948, and in 1954 the first batch of students appeared for the Senior Cambridge Exams. In July 1958, the school auditorium was inaugurated. The main building of the school was inaugurated by the Archbishop of Calcutta in November 1959.

In January 1977 the Free Night School was started, to cater to the needs of the poor children of the locality. The First Inter Schools cultural and co-curricular festival named as "Bosco Blow Up" was held on September 1977, with seven participant schools. Don Bosco Self-employment was started in August 1978 for the young men of the locality who are school drop-outs to enable them to learn a trade and earn their livelihood.

The new parish church was blessed in December 1984 by Rev. Fr. K.A. Joseph, the Salesian Provincial in the presence of Rev. Fr. Mariano Uguet, who had been instrumental in acquiring and setting up the institution, and Rev. Fr. Attilio Colussi, the first Rector. A computer centre was set up in December 1986, and the following year the school celebrated its Golden Jubilee, with a function presided over by the Governor of West Bengal Nurul Hasan.

In 1997, DBL celebrated its Diamond Jubilee with a grand function presided over by the Governor of West Bengal K. V. Raghunatha Reddy. The 1990s also saw the commissioning of the north-eastern four storey building for the boarding pupils and the renovation of the Technical School building.