Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High School District and serves the communities of Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Fairbanks Ranch, Solana Beach, and Carmel Valley in San Diego County.

That same year, Torrey Pines seniors scored an average of 1860 on the SAT I, with 41 and 31 of them being recognized as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists and Finalists respectively.

[5] Prior to 1936, students in all of coastal North County went to high school in Oceanside, California, as the areas of Carmel Valley and Torrey Hills were not developed for several decades.

In 1936, the San Dieguito Union High School District was created[9] and San Dieguito High School in Encinitas opened to serve students living in Del Mar, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, and Encinitas.

Design features included an open courtyard and wide hallways with large carpeted podium-like benches one could sit on.

There were many logistical problems in its initial opening, including an immediate shortage of classrooms and lockers, and lack of a food service building and a football stadium.

Various changes include the Media Center building's expansion towards Del Mar Heights Rd., the addition of a parking/transportation area, the repurposing of portable classrooms into athletics and weight rooms, the addition of a football stadium, and the conversion of the original black box theater into a lecture hall (with a second black box theater, a converted machine shop, later added in the Arts building).

In the summer of 2008, more stairs were constructed leading from the parking lot nearest Del Mar Heights Road to the English building.

[12][13] In November 2012, Prop AA,[14] a $449 million bond initiative aimed at improving the public school district, was passed by tax payers.

[16] Torrey Pines High School has a primarily White, Asian, and Hispanic student body.

[18] The student body is largely reflective of the surrounding area of Torrey Pines, characterized mainly by a level of affluence.

Its 2005–06 edition placed first in the 2006 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Chicago, Illinois and the 2006–07 edition won first place Best in Show at the 2007 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

[34][35] First Flight again won first place Best in Show at the 2010 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.