[2] In addition to standard core curriculum programs, Advanced Placement courses are offered which can be used for credit at universities and colleges.

[4] The school's music program offers:[5] Penticton High School opened on the current site in 1913 in the Ellis building, and in 1921 expanded into the new Shatford building, named after the recently deceased former Member of the Legislative Assembly in British Columbia and later Senator Lytton Shatford.

[15] The new building's design incorporated energy efficient strategies, including a geothermal heating system.

Its renovation was completed in 2011 and was funded by the school district, the local, provincial, and federal governments, and other public and private entities.

[19][20] The graduation of the class of 1975 was the topic of the short NFB documentary Pen-Hi Grad by Sandy Wilson.