[15] Churchie, widely recognised as one of Brisbane's most prestigious schools,[16] is among Australia's richest based on earnings and donations from alumni.

[19] In 1912, Canon William Perry French Morris and his wife (who held degrees in science and medicine) founded a school called St Magnus Hall at Ardencraig, a suburban house in Church Street (now Jephson Street), Toowong,[20] before relocating it to the present site in East Brisbane in 1918.

[26] In 2011, Morris Hall, the school's "spiritual heart", was upgraded and expanded and the adjacent quadrangle, Magnus Quad, was also relandscaped.

[28] Canon Morris based much of the school's ethos on its patron saint, St Magnus, a Norsemen earl known for his strength of character and his qualities as an educated Christian man.

[1] In May 2004, Frederick Roy Hoskins, a former teacher and boarding house head, pleaded guilty to seven child sex offences committed against seven victims aged nine to fifteen between 1947 and 1955.

The Headmaster issued letters to all parents regarding the matter, but kept the allegation, which was revealed in the mid-semester holiday break, confidential.

[38] Most of the school's buildings are built in the Gothic Scholastic style, characterised by 'decorative, half-timbered gables, red brick face-work, gargoyles and terracotta tiles'.

The remaining four are drawn from the following list:[49] Students also receive leadership development training as part of the pastoral learning curriculum and the school's outdoor education programme.

Boys of all skill levels are given the opportunity to participate in numerous sports, including: basketball, chess, cricket, cross-country, debating, football, rowing, rugby union, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and water polo.

[61] Churchie has had high success in Junior Cross Country being the first school to win the inaugural GPS Championships event for Year 5-7 in 2014.

[65] [66] In 2019, Churchie's First XI achieved the school's first-ever GPS Football premiership since the competition began in 1991.

[64] In 2012, the Open 1st VIII participated in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in the United Kingdom, the first Churchie crew to do so.

[76] Churchie's 2005 undefeated premiership-winning 1st XV contained two future Australia players: David Pocock and Quade Cooper.

[77] In all, sixteen Churchie boys have gone on to become Wallabies:[75] [78] GPS Schools began competing in an annual swimming competition since 1918.

These courts remained in service (with extensions and modifications) until 2009 when the Sir John Pidgeon Sports Complex was built on the site.

During his time at the school he has coached multiple professional tennis players such as John Milman, Adam Walton, and Colin Sinclar.

Churchie also has access to the council-owned Hazel Millman four tennis hard courts, which are located in Heath Park.

Even though water polo is not a recognised GPS sport, in 2009, 2010 and 2017 the Open Firsts emerged as undefeated premiers in the Independent School Competition.

Churchie students who have represented Australia at various levels include William Armstrong, James Broadley, Tom Culleton, Michael Dance, Tim Dance, Nick Godfrey, Duncan Greenbank, Stewart Greenbank, Zac Hudson, Tyler Sinclair, Tom Woudwyk and Alex Yeates.

The school's music program includes a symphony orchestra, an assortment of bands and choirs and a choral dectet.

Productions have included Peter Pan (2017), Grease (2016), Alice in Wonderland (2015), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2014), The Sound of Music (2013), Oliver!

The Stage Crew is a group of school students who work on productions, assemblies, service events, dances and other activities that require technical organisation.

Churchie students are regularly involved in a number of charitable events including doorknocks, fundraisers (especially for the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave),[97] nursing home visits and mobile Blood Bank donations.

On the final day of Term two, a Prep School Billy Cart Race is held to support World Vision.

Churchie's inter-house competition includes swimming, cross-country, track and field, trivia, lightning chess and singing.

Within five years he had encouraged the fishermen to stop drinking alcohol and Queen Victoria's interest in his successful persuasion of the crew led to her presenting the fleet with its first hospital boat.

Sir Wilfred Grenfell gave the school permission to use his personal motto, Loyal Devoir, and coat of arms when the house was established.

Hillary house was named by the late headmaster Charles Fisher, who looked for men who had achieved success in their chosen field.

Canon Morris chose Charles Kingsley, a man he considered a Christian with a Viking's courage, as the house's patron.

History revealed Charles Kingsley to have been a man who practiced his Christian beliefs and followed his social conscience to help the less fortunate, with whom he chose to live.