The school serves students from the North Druid Hills and Northlake area of DeKalb County.

It completed a $23 million renovation and addition in the summer of 2012, adding a new classroom wing and a performing arts building.

In Newsweek magazine's 2005 list of the best 1,200 public high schools in the nation, Lakeside ranked at 107, the highest in Georgia.

[7] In addition to a range of extracurricular activities, a curriculum is offered from a standardized system-wide program of studies.

22 Advanced Placement courses are offered in English Literature, Composition, Calculus AB and BC, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physics, Microeconomics, World History, Psychology, American History, American Government, Computer Science, French Language, Spanish Language, Music Theory, Studio Art Drawing, 2-D and 3-D, and Art History.

[9] The band has performed and won awards in competitions in Chicago, Washington D.C., Myrtle Beach, Orlando, and Hawaii.

The band also contains an active jazz band, winter drumline, color guard, and winter guard, which competes in the Southern Association of Performance Arts (SAPA) and won first place in class SrA (2011), and second place in IrA (2012).

Lakeside's theatre department has been flourishing for many years, especially after the addition of the new Fine Arts Building.

It was named Best Show, and went on to compete at the South Eastern Theatre Conference (SETC) in March 2018.