Opening in 1957, the school's catchment area covers most of the City of Belmont and the eastern part of the Town of Victoria Park.

Belmont's catchment area has been specified by the WA Department of Education to include the suburbs of Ascot, Cloverdale, Kewdale, Redcliffe and Rivervale.

Students in Carlisle and Lathlain have the choice between Belmont City College and Kent Street Senior High School.

These included the school-wide implementation of the "Choose Respect" initiative to address bullying, which won a regional award for excellence in 2007 and saw Belmont teachers presenting at Safe Schools events in other states, and a restorative justice initiative for peaceful conflict resolution.

The system retained direct accountability to the Director General of Education while allowing the school to have some control over its resources.