The school is set on 10 hectares (25 acres) and located adjacent to the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

The catchment covers locations in Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby councils, including Dangar Island.

The four houses, which are still part of the school today, and the names of the four original classroom buildings were set in 1965 - Churchill, Curie, Tagore, and Lincoln.

At that time, the grounds included an obstacle course (later dismantled for safety reasons) and three free-standing cottages for creative arts, music and one for senior students.

Ku-ring-gai was a local high school until 1996 when Mrs. B. Peatie became the headmistress and requested permission from the Department of Education to become selective in creative arts.