[2] The first classes were held in the Admiral Seymour Elementary School building in September 1908.

Situated in the Commercial Drive area of Vancouver, Britannia is a part of a larger community site which includes an elementary school, public library, skating rink, fitness facility and swimming pool.

The Venture program, which is based on the mini school concept, prepares students intending to enter IB in grade 11 to gain leadership skills, develop teamwork and offers a more enriching educational experience than regular classes.

The Britannia Community Centre boasts an ice rink, swimming pool, several gyms, a weight room and fitness centre, and Britannia Secondary students often use these facilities in physical education classes and in extracurricular activities.

The Britannia student body comes from a catchment area that includes the neighbourhoods of Strathcona, the Downtown Eastside, and most of Grandview–Woodland.

The Britannia student body also include those from outside the catchment area, as well as outside the district through open enrolment.

The school has a student population with at least 38 different languages spoken including Cantonese, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Tagalog.

The school had a dominant football team in the 1970s, winning the Shrine Bowl Provincial Championships once, and being runners-up three times.

[3] The next season, Britannia's senior boys team made the 'AA' Provincial final again, but lost to Southern Okanagan Secondary School from Oliver.

On March 10, 2012, the Britannia Senior Girls Basketball team also made school history by capturing its first B.C.

Britannia's senior girls team beat Lambrick Park 69-61 in the AA Provincial basketball final after a fourth quarter surge that saw the Bruins outscore the Pride 21-4.

This tops an incredible feat that has 5 consecutive Britannia basketball teams medal at the AA Provincial Championships since 2008.

Britannia has teams for badminton, basketball, cross country, soccer, table tennis, track and field, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball.