The ship (a model of Ark Royal, the flagship of Lord Howard of Effingham against the Spanish Armada) that features prominently on the top of the school hall is a reminder of the history of the site.

Additions since the 400th anniversary of the school have been a maze in the founder's garden, an aviary, an enclosure for Prevost's squirrels, ponds and a sports complex.

The original buildings have been supplemented by many additions and improvements including a Music School and Concert Hall, an integrated facility for science, technology, art and design together with library and resource centres, a separate Lower School building, and a major new Sports and Conference Centre which was opened in February 2005.

[9] In 2005 Sir David Attenborough visited the school to open the ponds, the enclosure of which also houses various waterfowl,[10] including Hawaiian geese.

Since 2005, Whitgift has offered the International Baccalaureate[11] Diploma Programme to the Sixth Form as an optional alternative to A-Levels.

The Whitgift nameplate that was formerly mounted on the front driving wheel-splasher of the locomotive is now on display in the Raeburn Library in the school.