[8] Its retiring principal, Chris Grinter, was the longest serving in the school's history, and in 2022, he received a New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education and Māori.

[16] Two memorial honours boards titled Pro Patria 1939–1945 Non Omnis Moriar either side of the stage in the school’s assembly hall commemorate 61 RBHS veterans who died in World War 2 military service.

[19][20][21] In 2011, the Head of Biology at the school, Dr Angela Sharples, won the Prime Minister's Science Teacher's Prize "as recognition for her outstanding teaching".

'[5] In December 2022, the CEO of the New Zealand Māori Tourism board pledged $10,000 to the Lion Foundation’s Raukura Rangatahi Fund as part of the Young Enterprise Scheme established to allow students to set up and run a real business.

At the end of 2020, in a climate influenced by the American Black Lives Matter movement, and supported by evidence that each of the four British namesakes had varying levels of involvement with slavery, the houses were given new names.

[61] Five 'sports academies' are offered to students:[58] The school’s own geothermal swimming pool, built in 1954, closed in the early 1990s in compliance with government forced bore closures across Rotorua.

[7] In 2005, Rotorua Boys' High School officially opened the Tai Mitchell Hostel, an onsite boarding facility, at a cost of $3.5 million.

[66][28][29] In 2009, the New Zealand Ministry of Education appointed a limited statutory manager Dennis Finn to investigate allegations of mismanagement, inappropriate drug-testing and financial issues regarding the school's Hostel.

[67] Despite vehement protests from parents, following his investigation, Finn found that the school had no case to answer, and the boys who had been suspended were subsequently reinstated, with "letters of explanation".

[69] Among his findings, the review director Phil Cowie wrote that RBHS had in place “a well-established, collaborative and robust school-wide evaluation process, highly effective leadership across all areas of the school, well-established educationally powerful connections, communication and relationships, and with Māori whānau, hapū, iwi and parents, families and communities, to support student learning and outcomes,” and that the school had addressed equity concerns and academic outcomes to provide a strong and positive base for initiatives.

The report made recommendations concerning NCEA implementation on “corequisites around literacy and numeracy, and building a strong base for common assessment activities; continuing a focus on the wellbeing of students and staff based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and partnerships with whānau and parents and creating a pathway for Tikanga Māori to be added as a core subject for all Year 12 ākonga[70] in 2023.”