Ipil National High School, formerly called Ipil Barangay High School then, was established in 1975. The school is located in Barangay Ipil, west part of Surigao City. It is 9 kilometers away from the city proper. The first establishment of it came to realize when couple residents, Mr. Fortunato Besario and Mrs. Marcelina Besario asked for a permit from the DECS, Surigao City for its opening. The High School did not have its own site then, so it squatted in the Elementary School premises, thus supervision was done by elementary principal. It started with the first year level and Mrs. Angelina Penados was the pioneer teacher.

As years went by, the enrolment increased because other students from nearby barangays and sitios like Bioborjan, Lipata, Punta Bilar, Aton, Danao, Anao-aon, and Magtangale came to enrol, thus the number of teachers increased as well. There were already nine (9) teachers, therefore it offered a complete secondary course. However, the problem of the lack of classrooms was still felt, owing to the non-acquisition of its own site. It took some time for the administration to solve the said problem. Upon request of help from the City Mayor Salvador C. Sering, the City Division particularly the Ipil Barangay School has now its permanent school site.

A makeshift school was erected through the initial efforts of the well-organized General Parents-Teachers Association. Although the whole situation was quite miserable, classes were still conducted successfully. During that time, DECS had not yet set a budget for the procurement of the chairs and other school facilities but the Barangay administration and the people worked hand in hand for the improvement of the school.

On its 25 years of existence, the untiring efforts of its populace had finally paid off. The church, through the generosity of the Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Vicente Castro, SVD, donated a six-classroom building and a multi-purpose building for the barangay high school. The construction started July 11, 1989 and everybody in the community was involved for its completion. It was 1989 when Ipil Barangay School officially became Ipil National High School.

In the year 1990, the newly renamed Ipil National High School received aids or dole-outs from a foreign country. It was Mrs. Angelina V. Penados who became the Officer In-Charge of the school until 1992. PASMEP or Philippine Australia Science and Math Equipment Project provided certain pieces of valuable equipment to further support Math and Science teachers and students in the teaching and learning process. Mrs. Flordelina D. Espina began her work as the next OIC in 1992 and in the following year, JICA (Japan International Cooperating Agency) building was established. Saved from the five (5) classrooms, one (1) Science Laboratory building with two (2) comfort rooms, pieces of quality equipment for H.E., Industrial Arts, Science, and Math subjects were given to help facilitate the needs of students and teachers in enhancing quality learning. Mrs. Marilou Dedumo succeeded as the school principal in the year 1996, and in 1998, the school has been awarded its fiscal autonomy, thus giving the school a leeway to have easy access on funds and allocation bent toward enhancing its quality of education. 

Ipil National High School was chosen as the Division Leader School and also became the PROBE Leader School, a recipient of the project in Basic Education which is a joint venture of the governments in the Philippines and Australia.

In the year 2000, the school received a number of computer units to cope up with the demands of time. Enhancing technical know-how became one of its missions. By the School Year 2001-2002, DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) Secretary Mar Roxas donated the school with 20 computer units. Since then, the students were given the basic course and hands-on in computer education. 2004 was the year when Ms. Ma. Luisa A. Guyano came to the school serving as Principal and in the year 2006, Mr. Ricky L. Pedralba became the OIC of the school. This was followed by Mrs. Susan B. Alenton, serving in the same year. In 2010, the DTI turned over 11 personal computer units and a printer to the school. These were acknowledged by the present School Principal, Arthur E. Jamera, PhD, and personally witnessed by 23 faculty members and 700 students. The school proudly hosted big events in the Encampment, Regional Fun Day for children with special needs and the Football Tournament sponsored by Surigao del Norte Football Association in Cooperation with the Philippine Football Federation- Manila. It was also in his administration that the First Grand Alumni Homecoming was conducted in 2013.

Dr. Vilma L. Gorgonio moved to Ipil NHS in 2014 serving as the principal for a year. She strongly implemented Project WATCH (We Advocate Time Consciousness and Honesty) in her time. In July 2015, Dr. Thelma T. Tolentino succeeded. The school through the DepEd Computerization Program received 50 computer units in the new computer laboratory. As the K to 12 Basic Curriculum geared toward its full implementation, the school constructed a two-storey, Six-Classroom Building for Senior High School. In 2018, the school was manned by a full-fledged Principal under the leadership of Dr. Trinidad T. Pulvera. Three new buildings have also been built recently, one of which is a four-storey Laboratory Building and the other two are one-storey TVL Laboratory Buildings. 

Currently, the school is under the leadership of Dr. Rudelyn Rosas-Clemeña, a full-fledged Principal II and Mr. Monreynard P. Cortes, as Assistant Principal. The working force of the school includes 32 Teachers, 5 Non-Teaching Staff and 2 Teaching-related Staff. As of December 2024, the school enlisted a total enrolment of 690 students, 490 of which belong to Junior High School, and 200 belong to Senior High School.