The school operates across two campuses, offering early learning, primary, and secondary education, with both day and boarding options.

He used his newfound wealth to build a magnificent home in North Sydney, which is now a boarding house of Shore.

The St. James' School Compensation Trust Act (1886) provided for the foundation of:[10]A school of the highest type, including departments of education for all classes of the community, in which the teaching shall be throughout in accordance with the principles of the Church of England, and which shall be placed under the direction of a governing body of clergy and laity to be elected by the Synod, the Bishop of the Diocese being the ex-officio president.The school’s colours and diagonal stripes are drawn from Christ’s College, Cambridge, where the founding Headmaster studied.

The school was given a choice of either buying the neighbouring "Graythwaite" property (the former home of Thomas Allwright Dibbs), or the land at Northbridge.

Sports include rugby union, soccer, cricket, tennis, taekwondo, basketball, rowing, cross country running, athletics, shooting, surf lifesaving, and snowsports.

The school's boatshed and pontoon for its rowing club is at Gladesville on the north shore of Sydney's Parramatta River.

Shore was the third Sydney school to take to the water (after Grammar and Riverview) and has been rowing in the GPS competition since the late 1890s, to great result.

Recent musical productions include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Oliver!, West Side Story, Anything Goes, A Peculiar People (World Premier), Les Misérables, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Over the years this variously-named "inside section" has fostered the satirical talents of Chris Taylor from The Chaser, and provided a unique[citation needed] perspective on the school and the wider world.

The school is also governed by a council jointly appointed by the Old Boys' Union and the Anglican Diocese of Sydney.

The fight wasn't a spontaneous act of aggression, but rather a "carefully orchestrated event" staged for voyeuristic purposes.

[42] A "Year 12" challenge run by a student labelled the "Triwizard Shorenament" (referencing the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter) emerged in September 2020, which included a range of inappropriate sexual challenges, racist, harmful and illegal activities (such as spitting on a homeless man).

The headmaster at the time, Dr Timothy Petterson, stated that it was "extremely disappointing to all of us that their thoughtless actions have cast a shadow, not only over the considerable achievements of their classmates, but the reputation of our school generally which strives to be a respectful, inclusive and caring environment for all.” [43] In September 2020, students filmed a TikTok video showing off the campus’ luxury facilities, including a “recovery pool”, a “harbour view library” and a “$50 mill gym".

The former headmaster Timothy Wright dismissed it as an "“ill-conceived prank and a display of very poor judgment by those caught up in the euphoria of the end of school”.