It was founded by Englishman Christopher Windley "C. W." Lonsdale in 1916 and was partly modelled after the Westminster School in England.

[1] The school's Latin motto, Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat, means "Let whosoever deserves the palm bear it."

[2] Shawnigan has approximately 35 buildings on its campus, which include classrooms, dormitories (and staff housing), a theatre, an ice hockey arena, and several sports fields.

Shawnigan was ranked by the Fraser Institute in 2017 as 11th out of 253 British Columbian Secondary Schools based on a score of 9.3/10 for academic achievements.

[3] Students are encouraged to try a variety of fine arts, selecting from a list of twenty options.