In 1859, Newton's population topped 8,000 residents for the first time, a threshold that required the town under Massachusetts state law to construct a separate high school.

[4] The first Newton High School building, located on Walnut Street in Newtonville, opened in September 1859, and was modified in 1875.

[citation needed] At a public hearing in June 2006, community residents criticized the plan for its cost and for creating a new four-way intersection at Walnut Street and Trowbridge Avenue.

Others claimed the proposed north–south orientation and lack of a basement level would waste energy as compared to the current structure.

[6] Nonetheless, after a public referendum and vote in January 2007, Newton residents approved the current plan for a new building.

[8] The building was dismantled, with contaminated construction debris packaged in lined cardboard boxes and shipped out in 650 trailer loads.

[11] Green features include rooftop solar panels, systems to reuse rainwater, interior materials with low emission of volatile organic compounds, and occupancy motion sensors.

The House system was designed to provide better communication, distributed administration, more personal attention to individuals, a smaller peer group for students, more practical social events, and intra-house athletic teams.

Newton North offers both traditional college-preparatory academic courses along with technical and vocational training.

[12] Newton North held the sixth position in Boston Magazine's 2010 rankings of public high schools.

The course taught students how to produce biodiesel, make fused plastic bags, and grow algae that would later be processed into fuel.

During the 2016–2017 school year, Greengineering had multiple new subject areas including pedal power and aquaponics.

[citation needed] Students studying foreign languages have the opportunity to participate in one of several international exchange programs.

[citation needed] Newton North publishes a monthly student newspaper, The Newtonite, founded in 1922.

Thoughtprints, published once a year, is the school's student-run literary magazine, featuring only student submissions.

Tiger Magazine is Newton North's video production class' monthly cable television program.

The content of the program is generally a mixture of comedy pieces, news, and community based documentary, as well as experimental and dramatic video works.

[citation needed] Near the end of the 2011–2012 school year, the name of the show was changed to Tiger Tube.

Post covid the Youtube show was renamed the NNUPDATE and switched to a bi monthly schedule.

Newton North competes in the Bay State League with other suburban Boston public schools.

Since 1894, the boys' football team has played rival Brookline High School in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game.

Beginning with Newton High School's first state title in 1922, the boys' track teams have won the Division I / Class A state championship 24 times outdoors and 15 times indoors, including Newton High School's record streak of eight in a row (1952–1959).

In 2011, the Newton North sprint medley relay team and its four members were named All-American by the National Scholastic Sports Foundation.

[22] Newton High/Newton North athletes have won a high school national title (Warren Wittens in the 1936 intermediate hurdles; Carla Forbes in 2012 in the long jump and triple jump;[23] Nick Fofana in 2014 in the decathlon[24] Andrew Mah in 2018 in the 5000[25]), an NCAA title (Carl Shine in the 1959 shot put), and run a four-minute mile equivalent (Tom Carleo ran 3:41 for 1500 and competed at the 1988 Olympic trials).

Their top-scoring athlete at state competition, Tanya Jones, won eleven individual Division I championships in the 300, 400, high jump, and long jump, and is the only athlete from either Newton North or Newton South high schools to score over 100 points at the state division / class meet level.

Post-high-school, distance star Liz Natale finished 2nd at the 1986 NCAA Division I championship in the 3000m and was an All-American six times for University of Texas.

In 2024, the boys' soccer team won the MIAA Division 1 State Championship, completing one of the most improbable Cinderella runs in Massachusetts high school sports history.