The school's Latin motto is Faber est suae quisque fortunae, translated as "Each person is the maker of his own fortune", a phrase attributed to the ancient Roman Appius Claudius Caecus.

The influence of the Fort Street Model School was substantial, forming the basis for education throughout the colonies: At the same time at the Fort Street National School in Sydney William Wilkins was teaching pupil-teachers how to lead the children of New South Wales out of darkness into the light.

He was holding out to them that bright prospect of the day when every locality however remote and every family however humble was supplied with the ameliorating influences of an education, which would teach every man, woman and child in the colony to form the habits of regularity, cleanliness, orderly behaviour, and regard for the rights of both public and private property, as well as the habit of obedience to the law, and respect for duly constituted authority.

In Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart his counterparts were preaching the same gospel of humanity marching forward, reaching upward for the light.

During that time, its grounds continued to be consumed by the growing city; for example, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which opened in 1932, took most of the playground.

[6] For many years from 1912 George Mackaness was the English master and deputy headmaster at Fort Street Boys' High School.

The worker had been restoring the facade of the 170-year-old public school when he was crushed by a sandstone concrete slab weighing several tonnes.

[12] Fort Street High School is located on a single campus adjacent to Parramatta Road in Petersham, a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney.

[13][14] The Petersham campus centres on the Romanesque Revival main building (formerly known to most staff and students simply as "the old block") now named the Wilkins Building[15] after William Wilkins, who played an instrumental role in the formation of the education system in New South Wales in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

After years of campaigning for insulation, the school received funding for noise reduction technology, as it is located beneath an air corridor.

Fort Street High School teaches all six grades of a standard secondary education in New South Wales, from year 7 to 12.

Students have the option of undertaking Vocational education (VET) courses, which may or may not contribute to their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in the HSC.

Sports offered include Ultimate Frisbee, hockey, rugby union, aerobics, basketball, ice skating, netball, K-pop dancing, pilates, soccer, water polo, cricket, tennis, baseball, volleyball, recreational gym, Oz-tag, rock climbing and touch football.

In 2002, it won the Director-General's School Achievement Award for providing opportunities for students to enrich and expand their expertise as musicians and performers.

In 2015, the Year 8 Charity Committee (class of 2019) established a team to participate in the annual Seven Bridges Walk, raising over $21,100.

The Fort Street High School Maker Society[32] is a co-curricular group where students can complete a variety of STEM activities.

It provides a social hub to inspire students to start their own projects, as well as a makerspace which contains facilities such as a laser cutter, multiple 3D printers, a CNC machine and various electronic test equipment.

The SRC is responsible for the annual Valentine's Day Rose Drive, among other events and fundraising efforts throughout the year.

[citation needed] It features a Talent Quest (previously the Battle of the Bands), a program where individuals and groups compete to win prizes.

In a nod towards the school's heritage, the Committee worked closely with the Observatory Hill Environmental Educational Centre, including the planning of EcoTour 2010.

For more than 20 years, Fort Street High School has supported a student led and mentored, voluntary Christian program called STIVE.

Other extracurricular activities include debating (the Year 7 and 8 team was the state champion in 2010[40]), public speaking, mock trial (Fort Street was the 2009 New South Wales Champions), mooting (Fort Street was the winning team of the 2021 University of Western Sydney Kirby Cup[41]), Tournament of Minds, Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme,[42] theatresports, photography, and dance.

An annual Speech Day is held near the beginning of each year at which student achievements are recognised and awards are presented.

In the past, Speech Day events have been held at various venues, including the school's Memorial Hall and the Sydney Opera House.

[47] It usually involves humorous sketches, often parodying school life and teachers, and, in the digital era, the primary medium has been video.

These are usually filmed in and out of class time after students' HSC Trial exams, taking place in early Term 3.

In 2010, FLOP was officially 'cancelled', however, in line with Fort Street students' long history of being a prominent source of progressive activism in Australia,[48] the decision was fiercely contested by student-led protest groups and FLOP continued in its rebellious nature, including during 2021,[49] when due to COVID-19, students were absent from school for most of their final term – when the filming takes place.