Lord Dorchester is a strong academic school (based on provincial test scores), but also offers a range of non-academic courses such as shop classes to go along with core subjects in mathematics, sciences, and the arts.

Lord Dorchester lacks sports teams which can draw students away from the school.

Lord Dorchester has a large number of extracurricular sports and athletic programs.

Boys' and girls' teams participate in hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer, golf, tennis, archery, badminton, wrestling, baseball/softball, track and field, and cross country running.

The track and field team is a source of pride for the school due to recent successes at OFSAA (2nd Girls Team Overall in the 2014 Championships, 3rd 2016, 4 × 400 m Champions in 2014 and 2016) and WOSSAA (Girls Overall Champions in 2015 and 2016).