The houses, named after the first four headmasters of the school, are Lucas (yellow), Macaulay (red), Wanstall (green) and Speirs (blue).

The Selwyn House Gryphons have fielded strong athletic teams in recent decades[4] and their traditional rivals in sports are Lower Canada College and Loyola High School.

[15] In 1908, the English-speaking elite of Montreal were in need of a suitable preparatory school, and British Captain Algernon Lucas was seeking a teaching career in Canada.

Its aim was to provide a solid grounding in basic subjects, and to equip boys for the boarding schools from which they would proceed to university.

In the 1940s, the students who attended the school were overwhelmingly Protestant with the notable exception of sons of the Bronfman family, who were Jewish.

When St. Andrew's United Church across the street closed, Selwyn House purchased and renovated it, and it is now known as the Macaulay Building.

In 2002, the school built the Speirs Building which housed a new double-sized gym, a spacious high-tech library, numerous classrooms, offices and an agora for student assemblies and various other functions.

He also mentions the constant racial bullying of his French Canadian classmate and notes that it was more difficult back then to be a francophone than a Jewish or visible minority student.

In June 2020, Hannaford retired and was replaced by Mike Downey, who previously served as a teacher, a coach and most recently, the head of senior school at Selwyn House.

[28] Allegations that two other former teachers, including John Aimers, had also abused students were filed as part of a class action lawsuit on February 3, 2006.

Income generated from long-term investments owned by the fund is then used to pay for scholarships and financial assistance for students who qualify.

A gala hosted in 2008 to celebrate Selwyn House's centennial anniversary raised $1.5 million with 10 percent of the money going to local charities.