[1] The school is operated by the NSW Department of Education; the principal is now Darren Ponman as of Term 1 2023.

The March 2021 eastern Australia floods in New South Wales also affected HSPA by the closure of the school's Hunter Theatre.

Due to the downstairs floor featuring an orchestra pit, storage room and boys and girls dressing rooms being flooded and waterlogged which caused a costly amount of collateral electrical damage.

[5] The original colours of the school were those of the 35th Battalion ("Newcastle's Own Regiment") of World War I, green and brown.

In 1999, students were given a survey in a bid for them to choose their own school colours; they chose jade, purple and black.