President Quirino National High School began its humble beginning due to the closure of the lone existing private school in the Poblacion President Quirino in 1985. Municipal Government then, headed by then Mayor Igmedio Barrientos, Sr. initiated the extension of services of then President Quirino Municipal High School now Mangilala National High School located at Baranggay Mangilala to Barangay Poblacion.
The school had its humble beginning with only 5 teachers to take care of 305 students and Mr. Ernesto E. Diaz became the first Principal. The school site was at a makeshift public market that was divided into three (3) classrooms to accommodate three (3) curriculum levels. Teachers served two schools- at the mother school in Mangilala and at the newly established school in the Brgy. Poblacion. There were teachers’ daily schedules done to address the needs of two schools.
The school population continued to increase and having seen the absolute need of the community to have a stable Public Secondary School, then S.B. Member Lucio Castillo sponsored a Municipal Resolution No. 85-05 establishing a Municipal High School in Poblacion and a same resolution donating to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports a parcel land area of 1.5 hectares beside the municipal hall. The passage of the said Municipal Resolution Resolution Series of 1985 by Sangguniyang Bayan and by virtue of Republic Act No. 6642 the President Quirino Municipal High School in Poblacion was established, thus the first school building was constructed through Assemblyman Benjamin Duque who allotted Php50,000 from his pork barrel. To address the continuously increasing number of enrollees, classes were conducted in three (3) venues, at Pres. Quirino Central school classrooms near the grandstand, at the makeshift public market and at the school site. In 1991, it was nationalized and then renamed President Quirino National High School. Noted to be a performing school resulted to the influx of enrollment from nearby municipalities of Buluan, Datu Paglas and Tacurong. Considering the rapidly increasing population, the department provided more school buildings, teachers, chairs and other necessities. The local government and stake holders headed by the PTA continuously demonstrated their support by providing technical and financial assistance to the school.