It is situated on 12 hectares of green belt land in the suburb of Mount Victoria, in the vicinity of the Basin Reserve and Government House.

The school was founded in 1867 through a deed of endowment from Sir George Grey, the then Governor of New Zealand.

In 1869 the school moved to a new, spired, wooden building on the hills above the central city in Clifton Terrace from where it could be seen from many places in Wellington.

[6] Wellington College's Pavilion, Firth House, and the Gifford Observatory were opened on 1 December, 1924.

The War Memorial Hall was opened on 2 March, 1928, financially supported by £6000 from the Old Boys' Association.

In the 1960s the Old Boys Gymnasium was built on the eastern boundary of the campus replacing the swimming pool[9] and during the 1970s the Maths, Library, and Technology blocks were opened, replacing the last of the War Memorial Hall building and classroom wings that opened in 1928.

The only "historical" buildings remaining on campus to this day are Firth Hall, the Pavilion, and the Gifford Observatory.