The original campus was located on Douglas Road, on the promenade in Castletown, however the school soon out-grew its original site and moved to a new site named "Westhill" about a mile away.

Every pupil in the school is a member of one of the houses and represents them in awards and sporting events.

The houses are named after famous Norse rulers of the Isle of Man.

In the 1970s two more houses were founded for the boarders - Ivar and Somerled which were represented by gold and purple.

The motto of The Buchan is Fortior Qui Melior, which means "The Braver The Better".