The school is located on 100 acres (0.40 km2) of ground, surrounded by school-owned farmland alongside the Waikato River.

The board of the school approved the International Baccalaureate programme to be taught alongside the current NCEA curriculum at Year 12 and 13, effective 2009.

Students use the farm regularly for a wide variety of applications including animal feeding, breeding and health, pasture composition, growth rates and dry matter percentage, weed identification, and more.

It is an initiative that helps students understand the importance of business, and to develop enterprising attributes and skills.

Junior Sports Academies (Rugby, Football, Netball and Cricket) were introduced in 2017 as curriculum-based options in Years 7–10.

School teams for these sports are offered at all age groups as co-curricular opportunities for all students, regardless of whether they choose to enrol in a curriculum academy or not.

St Peter's has other sports academies including Equestrian, Rowing, Swimming, Golf, Rugby, and Cycling.

In November 2021, the school's chair announced that police were investigating historical cases of sexual abuse.

The school announced that nineteen boys suffered sexual, physical or emotional abuse between 1936 and 1981, in cases involving eight staff.