Early history - 1920s to the 1950s

Middle period - 1960s to the 1970s

During the 1960s and 1970s, the school committed to smaller class sizes, new curricular innovations, and honors programs. In September, 1978, PSA Flight 182 crashed and exploded several blocks (Nile and Dwight Streets) from the campus. The school shut down and became a triage and command and control center for those authorities who responded to the emergency posed by the crash, culminating in the utilization of the gymnasium as a makeshift morgue. The following year an arsonist burned down the school's library, which has since moved to Villanova Hall.

Into the modern era - 1980s to the present day

New buildings completed in 2007

In the 1980s and 1990s, the school moved towards computerization and renovations occurred around the campus. The biggest change during this era was the creation of an on-campus parking lot and the closure of Bancroft Street, which previously divided the campus into two separate sections. In 1997, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary. The school continued to grow in the new millennium, and embarked on a three phase building campaign in which most of the school was demolished and rebuilt to meet modern standards of building codes and architectural tastes.

Phase One of the renovations included a demolition of most of the classroom buildings, to be replaced by two new buildings, Mendel Hall and Villanova Hall. On June 2, 2006, together with the San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, the Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego Salvatore Cordileone, the school's President John Keller O.S.A., ASB President Alexander Guittard, and various members of the Augustinian and general school community, the school broke ground for Phase One. Work for Phase One was completed in fall 2007. The second phase consisted of the new Saint Augustine Commons, a multipurpose gymnasium and meeting space. Work began in late 2015 and was completed in 2017. Phase Three focused around a renovation for the old gymnasium, Dougherty Gym. Construction began on July 17, 2017 and concluded on September 12, 2018. The gym was mainly repurposed as a theater, The Raymond Center for The Performing Arts. The renovations also included a new weight room and a band room.

Demographics

The student body consists of many different national origins.

Most students live near and within typical driving distance of the school. The bulk of students live in San Diego and surrounding areas including La Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Point Loma, Downtown, and Beach areas. However, some students have longer commutes from areas in the North (such as Carlsbad, Del Mar, Valley Center, Escondido and Oceanside), the East (Poway and Lakeside), and the South (such as Chula Vista, Eastlake and Bonita) A number of students commute daily from Tijuana. Most students are Catholic; however, the school accommodates people of other faiths, including non-Christian ones and some degree of non-faith in personal belief.

Curriculum

Saints offers courses in the following subjects:

• Religion:
• Social Studies
• World Languages
• English
• Mathematics
• Sciences
• Visual and Performing Arts
• Computer Science and Technology
• Physical Education

Scheduling

A new block schedule was introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic. The school day starts at 7:45am and ends at 2:00pm. On Mondays, students have all six blocks, each being 50 minutes long. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students have Blocks 1, 3, and 5, each class being 1 hour and 25 minutes long. On Wednesdays and Fridays, students have Blocks 2, 4, and 6, each class being 1 hour and 25 minutes long. Each morning, except for Mondays, from 7:45 to 8:45, there is a non-class period. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the teachers have office hours, that allow students to ask questions or help about assignments. Office hours are not mandatory. Every Wednesday morning, the entire school comes together for mass, and on Thursday morning, all students must go to their homeroom, which they are assigned at the beginning of the school year. Both mass and homeroom are mandatory.

Retreats

Students experience several (including three mandatory) retreats at Saint Augustine. These retreats are:

• Freshman Overnight Retreat
  • This retreat takes place about a month after the school year has started, during which the entire freshman class is split into several groups where they discuss and learn about the Saints community and their place in it. The groups are led by a pair of either junior and senior "Big Brothers." The freshmen arrive early Saturday morning and leave late that night. They return Sunday morning for mass and final activities, and are dismissed on Sunday afternoon. This retreat is mandatory.
• Sophomore Retreat
  • This one-day retreat at Mission San Diego de Alcala continues the theme of helping the community, both in global and local capacities. In past years, the focus of this retreat has been on the plight of African children, followed along with a screening of Invisible Children, culminating with a talk given a refugee from an African nation. This retreat is also mandatory.
• Junior Retreat
  • This retreat is also a one-day event and focuses on building the relationship of the students in the class. Several activities build on the themes and the day finishes off with a mass. It takes place at Mission San Diego de Alcala.
• Kairos Retreat
  • It is optional for seniors to go on Kairos, but it is strongly encouraged. The retreat takes place several times each year and juniors are permitted to attend Kairos in the spring. The retreat is led by faculty and senior students that have already been on Kairos.

Athletics

Visual and performing arts

In areas other than sports, the school supports numerous art disciplines including the dramatic, musical, and fine arts. Students artwork is prominently displayed throughout the campus. Student bands are popular and play at "8th Grade Visitation," some rally days, and at the Annual Saints/OLP Talent Show.

Club and Special Groups

Like any high school, Saints has a wide variety of student clubs and associations.

Rivalries

St. Augustine is one of four Catholic high schools in the San Diego area, leading to a natural state of heightened competition between the St. Augustine and the other Catholic schools in the region: the former University of San Diego High School, now known as Cathedral Catholic High School, and the former Marian Catholic High School, now known as Mater Dei Catholic High School. (The fourth, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, is an all-girls school and has long been considered as a sister school to Saints).

The rivalry that is most prevalent is between Saints and USDHS / Cathedral, which has spanned many years. Since the early 1970s, a yearly 'Charity Bowl' (now called the 'Holy Bowl'), first hosted at Jack Murphy Stadium (Qualcomm Stadium) by Bob Hope, occasionally at Balboa Stadium, and now at Southwestern College Stadium, has been the highlight of the rivalry. The two schools' football teams have in fact met in every season since the foundation of University High, except for 2007, when the game was cancelled as part of a county-wide cancellation of all high school sports during the October wildfires and was not rescheduled.