Encompassing grades 10 through 12, Halifax West High School offers a variety of courses in both French and English as well as International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas for its enrollment of 1550 students as of September 2015.

Halifax West High School was constructed in 1958 on Dutch Village Road in the suburban community of Fairview.

Originally known as Halifax West Municipal High School during the 1960s, students came by bus from a widespread area including Rockingham, Spryfield, Sheffield Mills, Sambro, Head of St. Margaret's Bay and Hubbards.

Still tests yielded poor air quality, specifically in one area of the school where the science and art labs were located.

At the meeting, other options were discussed, including using the building of a new junior high school that was yet to open in the Clayton Park West neighbourhood.

After several years of pressure on provincial and municipal politicians, the Department of Education agreed to fund a new school in the suburb of Clayton Park, adjacent to Fairview.

[2] During the design phase of the new school building, provisions were made for adding a large auditorium which would function as a community theatre, to be constructed at a later date after fundraising was completed.

The Halifax West High School athletics department offers varsity and intramural sports teams for sports such as curling, football, hockey, soccer, volleyball, basketball, badminton, track and field, softball, baseball, field hockey, wrestling and rugby.

Halifax West's boys' varsity soccer team has won provincial championships four years in a row (2003–2004, 2004–2005, 2005–2006, 2006–2007), and is only the second high school in Nova Scotia to ever do so.

Halifax West's Junior Varsity Boys' Soccer Team won the NSSAF Provincial Championship three times (2005–2006 and 2006–2007).

Halifax West High School has a variety of student extracurricular clubs, teams, committees, and societies, including student government, model parliament, philosophy, robotics, yearbook, debate, multiculturalism, knitting, yoga, improv, math, film production, and numerous musical ensembles.

Founded in May 2022, the club holds a prolific presence within the school community through their Instagram (@themonthlytorch), monthly newspapers featured on the school website and classrooms, and collaborations with other student bodies like the Improv Team, Warriors Live, and Student Government to provide engaging and informative content.