It is the oldest public high school west of Winnipeg, Manitoba and north of San Francisco, California.

When the University of British Columbia opened in 1915, Victoria College suspended operation until 1920 when it reopened at nearby Craigdarroch Castle.

[10] The current school building, which was designed in 1911 and opened in 1914, has been listed on the City of Victoria's Heritage Registry since 1982.

The building has two ornate facades, including some very large windows which offer prime views of downtown Victoria and the Fernwood neighbourhood.

Technical education shops were first opened at Vic High in 1943 as part of the training effort for the Second World War.

[13] The facilities were built to the west of the playfield by trainee soldiers with assistance from Vic High students.

In September 1949, classes began in new Industrial Arts facilities, which had been added onto the south end of the wartime building to provide shops for electrical, automotive, sheet metal, welding and woodwork plus classrooms and drafting rooms.

Later renamed the Fairey Technical Centre, in addition to previous disciplines it also housed classes for industrial design, art metal and jewelry, and even dance.

provided $77.1 million for seismic upgrades and a 200-seat expansion of Victoria High to keep students safe and ensure they are not attending an overcrowded school.

[citation needed] Vic High hosts an active weather station as part of the School-Based Weather Station Network, operated as a partnership between the University of Victoria and several school districts to provide state of the art interactive technologies as part of the school's science program.