SBP began in 1890, with Richard Olaf Winstedt as deputy (he later became Director of Education inMalaya). "The Selangor Raja School" was established as a starting step to produce the Malay elite from among the palaces and princes, states, through the English medium education. In 1894, the school was closed for renovation and was reborn in a new form in 1905 at Kuala Kangsar, which to this day known as the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK).

Sultan of Perak, Sultan Idris in the Conference of Rulers (Durbar) in 1903 which criticized the policy of British administration, especially in the education of the Malays, saying it was merely "to producing better Malay farmers or fisherman only". Sultan of Perak himself has offered on-site locations for MCKK[citation needed], with the purpose "for the education of the Malays of good family and for the training of Malay boys for admission to certain branches of the government service". In 1947, "Malay Girl College" was established in Kuala Lumpur, later moved to Seremban,Negeri Sembilan, known as Tunku Kurshiah College until now, named after the first Raja Permaisuri Agong.

In September 1955, an Education Committee was established which gave birth to the Razak Reportin 1956. Razak Report approved and produced the Education Ordinance 1957. The Razak Reportrecommended the formation of six units of Sekolah Berasrama Penuh (SBP), namely:
Sekolah Dato 'Abdul Razak (SDAR) - 1956
Sekolah Tun Fatimah (STF) - 1956
Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (STAR) - 1957
Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Halim (SMSAH) - 1963
Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah (SAS) - 1963
Sekolah Seri Puteri (SSP) - 1968

In 1955, Kolej Islam Malaya was embodied in the former palace on the site, which by the late Sultan Hishamuddin diwakafkan ibni Sultan Sulaiman in Klang, Selangor. In 1966, the college was moved to Jalan Universiti in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. In 1967, after the customization work is completed, the college was moved to Klang and named Kolej Islam Klang. In 1972, Pentadbiran College was taken over entirely by the Ministry of Education Malaysia and name change to Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah.

The projects that needed to be implemented in the Second Malaysia Plan were stated as:
"important projects in the plan is the establishment of ten pilot residential science secondary schools added to provide educational opportunities for pupils from rural areas to pursue their education in science subjects."

10 SBP have been built in the Second Malaysia Plan namely: -
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa (1973)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tun Syed Sheh Shahabudin (1973)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Selangor (1973)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Muzaffar Shah (1973)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (1973)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mahmud (1973)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra (1973)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Syed Putra (1974)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Jaafar (1974)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Johor (1975)

To date, there are 67 SBP's, section into 11 premier SBP's, 41 Science School (Sekolah Menengah Sains), 12 Integrated School (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi) and 3 Federation Religious Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan). Among them, 6 are all-boys, 5 are all-girls, 6 for upper form students and 2 schools are under the royal shade (MCKK and SAS). In 2013, the students of Sekolah Menengah Sains Pasir Puteh (SCIPP), an all-girls boarding school, have ademonstration, protesting the school administrator about their education rights.

The teachers of SBP's with PhD will be increased in line with the latest MOU signed by MOE andUniversiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Till this date, the is a new SBP that will be open next year (2014) which is SMS Perempuan Seremban (GISS) situated at the old Tunku Kurshiah College premise. Another SBP's still in development is SMS Gua Musang, Kelantan (GUMUS).

The history of SBP is a rich one, and certain fields are considered the hallmark of SBP schools. These include
Fully Residential School Excellence Day (HKSBP)
Piala Perdana Menteri / Prime Minister's Trophy Challenge (PPM) debate competition of which is a yearly event as part of the HKSBP calendar
Finale Wind Orchestra
SBP 10's Rugby Annual Championship
Nadwah Kepimpinan Islam (Islamic Conference)
Malaysia International Young Inventors Olympiad (MIYIO)
Fully Residentional School International Symposium (FRSIS)
Gamelan Melayu dan Caklempong.



List of fully boarding schools in MalaysiaThe following list is arranged according to states in Malaysia.

Johor
Sekolah Tun Fatimah (STF)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Johor [SMSJ]
Sekolah Menengah Sains Kota Tinggi (SAKTI)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Iskandar (ISKANDAR)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Muar (SAMURA)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sembrong (SASEM)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Batu Pahat (SEHEBAT)

Kedah
Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Halim (SMSAH)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa(SEMUJI)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Pokok Sena (SAINA)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Kubang Pasu (I-KUPS)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Kubang Pasu (KUPSIS)

Kelantan
Sekolah Menengah Sains Machang (SMACH)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Pasir Puteh (SCIPP)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra (SMSTMFP)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Jeli (JESS)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Gua Musang (under construction)

Melaka
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Selandar (SISME) [1]
Sekolah Menengah Sains Muzaffar Syah (MOZAC)

Negeri Sembilan
Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak (SDAR)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Jempol (SBPIJ)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Jaafar (STJ)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Munawir (SASER)
Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan Labu (SMAPL)
Kolej Tunku Kurshiah (TKC)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Rembau (SEMESRA)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Perempuan Seremban (SSGS)

Pahang
Sekolah Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Pekan (SHAH PEKAN)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Abdullah (SEMESTA)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Kuantan (SEMSAS)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Tun Abdul Razak (InSTAR)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Kuantan (INTEK)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Temerloh (InSOfT)
Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan Bentong (SUPERB)

Perak
Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK)
Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (STAR)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Raja Tun Azlan Shah (SERATAS)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Teluk Intan (SEMESTI)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gopeng (I-GOP)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Bagan Datoh (SABDA)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tapah (SESTA)

Perlis
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Syed Putra (SYED PUTRA)
Pulau Pinang
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tun Syed Sheh Shahabudin Bukit Mertajam(SOKSEK)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Kepala Batas (SAKBA)

Sabah
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sabah (SMESH)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Lahad Datu (SEMSALD)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Labuan (SMEXCEL)

Sarawak
Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuching (SainsKu)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Miri (SAINSRI)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuching Utara (SaKuRa)

Selangor
Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor (SEMASHUR)
Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah (KISAS)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gombak (INTEGOMB)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Rawang(SEPINTAR)
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Sabak Bernam (INTESABER)
Sekolah Seri Puteri (SSP)
Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan Kajang (SMAPK)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuala Selangor (KUSESS)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Banting (BASiS)

Terengganu
Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Batu Rakit (BRaInS)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mahmud (SESMA) also found at..
Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuala Terengganu (SESTER)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Dungun (SEMERDU)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Terengganu (SAHUT)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Setiu (SAIS)

Wilayah Persekutuan
Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah (SAS)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Alam Shah (ASiS)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Seri Puteri (SESERI)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Labuan (SMS EXCEL)
Sekolah Menengah Sains Selangor (SMSS)