The school itself is located in the Eric Hamber Secondary catchment area.

Van Horne was built in 1911, and was named after Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, the general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

In 2003 the VSB began seismic upgrades on the school, including the re-arrangement of classrooms, the addition of new library and computer lab facilities.

On the west side of the main building, there are two detached classrooms.

The school usually has a yearly Terry Fox Run to raise money for cancer research in Canada.