In 2014, The Washington Post ranked City Honors as the most challenging high school in the northeast, based on the number of college-level exams taken per graduate.

[3] City Honors began as a series of enrichment topics at Bennett High School in 1973, known as "Course Y".

Increased student demand led to these workshops becoming a "school-within-a-school" at Bennett beginning in 1975, with a partnership being forged with nearby Canisius College.

17 located at the corner of Main and Delavan, which would allow the school to add grades 5 through 8 and strengthen its affiliation with Canisius.

Notable alumni from City Honors and Fosdick-Masten Park High School include:[15]