[4] A statue of a Viking head, the mascot of the school's sports teams, stands in front of the two buildings.

On 12 October 2018, the British Columbia Ministry of Education officially announced funding for a complete rebuild of the current campus totaling CA$79.2 million.

Construction was slated to be complete for September 2021, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Burnaby North Secondary School.

[6] On 4 October 2019, controversy erupted at Burnaby North when news articles and reports surfaced of an incident involving the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.

The graduating class consists of approximately 450 to 500 students on average, many of whom are offered scholarships to attend well-known universities.

[12] In October 2013, Burnaby North announced that it would be offering the Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone Diploma starting in the 2014–15 school year.

Burnaby North also offers a very well established Career Preparation program through which students go out on work experience for between 30 and 90 hours.

Several NHL players have attended this school, most notably Joe Sakic, Cliff Ronning, Mike Santorelli, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

While Burnaby North is considered a highly academic school, its music program is also renowned.

The school's marching band, well known for their maroon uniforms and Viking headwear, are often invited to participate in the Calgary Stampede[15] and other national events.

The band won gold in the large ensemble and orchestra classes of the 2015 Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festival.

The enormous black head wearing a two-horned helmet and facing Union Street was built by the school's Technology Education wing's welding staff and students.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, it was covered with a red and white tuque and scarf, the national colours of Canada.