[2] A feature of Kinkaid's Upper School is its Interim Term, which provides three weeks in January for teacher-designed and student-selected curricula.

Students may also go on international trips sponsored by the school, such as tours of China, Italy and Greece; homestays in Mexico and France are also possibilities.

In the fall, it offers football (boys only), cross country, volleyball, cheerleading and field hockey (girls only).

In the spring, it offers lacrosse, baseball (boys only), softball (girls only), track & field, tennis and golf.

[5] For students who don't choose to play competitive team sports, Kinkaid offers yoga, badminton, cardio fitness, beginner golf, physical conditioning, and recreational tennis as alternatives.

[5] Kinkaid offers a variety of courses in the performing and visual arts to its Upper and Middle School students.

The visual arts courses include drawing and illustration, painting, printmaking, photography, film, and ceramics.

Every spring, the Upper School puts on a musical for which all students, freshmen through seniors, may audition.

When the School was first established, it was located in the dining room of Margaret Hunter Kinkaid's house, which was at the intersection of Elgin and San Jacinto in what is now Midtown Houston.

[citation needed] The School's second location was at the intersection of Richmond and Graustark in the Neartown neighborhood.

[citation needed] Beginning in the early 1990s, the campus began a large construction program in an effort to modernize its facilities.

[9] Since 2022, improvements to the school have been made through Kinkaid's "All In" plan, which featured large-scale campus renovations and restructuring.

The plan, set to finish in August 2026, will completely rebuild campus buildings, upgrade and modernize facilities, restructure curriculum, and a move towards an expanded class size.

[citation needed] Mrs. Kinkaid was succeeded as head by John H. Cooper, who stayed with the School for over two decades.

[citation needed] Dr. Trusty left Kinkaid in the summer of 2020 after Jonathan Eades was appointed the new head of school.

[16] On November 11, 2009, a Kinkaid parent, Hugh "Skip" McGee III, sent an irate letter (entitled "The Tipping Point") to the School's board of trustees.

[18][19] Philip Roth's novel, Exit Ghost, features a character who is described as having been a valedictorian at Kinkaid, prior to attending Harvard.