LAHS currently competes in the New Mexico Activities Association's District 2, AAAA division for athletics, and has won 111 state championships in the school's history.

In August 1945, following the Allied victory in Japan, it was decided the Los Alamos Laboratory's nuclear research would continue in order to counter a rising Soviet threat.

[3] In 1946, much of the budget for construction and operation of the high school was provided directly by the Atomic Energy Commission instead of state or local taxes.

During the 1960s, LAHS began to attract attention for its consistent academic performance, low drop-out rate, and innovative teaching methods.

[13] Clinton made an unscheduled appearance at LAHS in 1998 following a speech he gave at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

[15] In 2000, two students were killed before daylight on Good Friday while making a traditional religious pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó.

[24] LAHS is not a magnet school[25] and does not have an admissions exam; Any student living in Los Alamos is free to attend.

[28] LAHS has consistently exceeded the Adequate Yearly Progress Math and Reading proficiency requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act for its student body at large.

The Los Alamos High School has a standards-based curriculum and allows students to develop an individualized four-year plan.

Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in German, Spanish, French, physics, biology, chemistry, environmental science, calculus, statistics, English (both Lit.

[34] Students also participate in NJROTC,[35] educational work study, a building trades program, an automotive program, marketing and office technology courses, and concurrent enrollment at the University of New Mexico's Los Alamos Branch Campus which is located adjacent to the high school.

Students who desire a different approach to education can apply to the School of Choice, a project-oriented, cooperative learning, interdisciplinary program.

The median household income in Los Alamos County is $88,870 and few economically disadvantaged students attend LAHS.

Ethnic composition[37] Los Alamos High School competes in the New Mexico Activities Association District 2-AAAA.

[41] In 2002 the LAHS Girls Cross Country, won the AAAA State Championship with a perfect score of 15 (i.e. their runners finished in places 1–5).

The mascot of Los Alamos High School is the Hilltopper, chosen in a vote by the student body in the 1960s.

[70] In 2004, the mural was destroyed during renovations to the Gymnasium's HVAC system when a series of fans were installed on the gym's interior south wall.

This is the most recent in a series of capital renovations at the high school including the addition of a new science wing and the newly[clarification needed] remodeled R-Wing (formerly the cafeteria).