Rothesay Netherwood School
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| Rothesay Netherwood School | |
 |
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| Location | |
| Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada | |
| Information | |
| Head of School | Paul Kitchen |
| School type | Private Day/Boarding Co-Ed |
| Grades | 6-12 |
| Campus | 180 acres Private Campus, overlooking the Kennebecasis River |
| Founded | 1877 |
| Enrollment | 257 (2006) |
Rothesay Netherwood School is a Canadian, private, boarding and day university-preparatory school (grades 6-12) located in Rothesay, New Brunswick Canada. The school is noted for its comprehensive curriculum integrating information technology, Outward Bound excursions, and daily participation in sports. RNS is the most recent Canadian addition to the international organization Round Square.
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[edit] Introduction
Rothesay Netherwood School is the result of the merger of two separate schools, Rothesay Collegiate School for boys and Netherwood School for girls. The two schools had a history of co-involvement dating back to the 1890s and merged in 1984 for financial reasons. The merged school was known as Rothesay Collegiate School Netherwood until 2003 when the new name was adopted. Paul Kitchen has been the Head of School since 1987.
[edit] History
[edit] Rothesay Collegiate School
In 1877 a co-educational school intended to prepare students for enrollment into the newly-chartered Royal Military College of Canada was formed in Rothesay, an affluent suburb of the prosperous city of Saint John, New Brunswick. Originally called Thompson's School, this day school was housed upstairs in Whelpley Hall near the Rothesay train station.
In 1891, the school was purchased by local wealthy merchant James F. Robertson, who renamed it Rothesay Collegiate School and moved it to its present location while adding boarding facilities and restricting enrollment to boys. In 1907 Robertson handed the school over to the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton and Rev. W.R. Hibbard was appointed headmaster the following year. Dr. Hibbard was succeeded by Dr. C.H. Bonnycastle in 1938 but the school was run by his assistant, Dr J.F.L. Jackson, while Dr. Bonnycastle served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. In 1963, the school was incorporated and leased to an independent Board of Governors. Following Dr. Bonnycastle's retirement in 1970, a series of five headmasters presided over the school for next 17 years.
[edit] Netherwood School
Girls were first enrolled at Thompson's School until its move in 1891. The Netherwood School for girls was founded in 1894 by Miss M. Gregory who was succeeded in 1895 by her niece, Mrs. J. Armstrong. In 1903, Miss E. Pitcher became principal and in 1912 Dr. S.B. Ganong purchased and presided over the school until her retirement in 1944. Dr. Ganong was succeeded by several headmistresses that presided for relatively short terms.
[edit] Merger
In the 1970s the New Brunswick government began investing heavily in the public education system and RCS and Netherwood were subsequently challenged to maintain enrollment. In 1972 the schools formed a partnership that led to shared classes but continued to maintain separate campuses but financial difficulties continued and were exacerbated by the lack of long-term strategy caused by a series of short-term Heads at each school. In 1984 RCS and Netherwood announced that both schools would be closing. A group of parents and alumni came forward with a proposal to obtain financing and combine the schools. The schools, now merged into RCS-Netherwood, were saved but this success came at the expense of the sacrificed Netherwood Campus.
[edit] Today
Between 1984 and 1991 over $1.2 million dollars were raised in the Call to Excellence Campaign lead by Jack Hickman, allowing the school to continue operation. From 1995-1996 the Building for the Next Century Campaign led to the construction and renovation of several buildings. In June 2002 RNS's newest boys residence, Kirk House, opened. Collegiate Hall was opened in May 2005 and now houses the school's offices and conference rooms. The newest addition to RNS is Netherwood House. It opened on October 4th, 2006 and houses middle school girls (grades 6-8).
[edit] Notable alumni
- Gordon Fairweather, prominent Canadian politician and first chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
- John Peters Humphrey, drafter of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Arthur Irving, leading member of the Irving family and head of Irving Oil.
- James Irving, leading member of the Irving family and head of the J.D. Irving pulp and paper and shipbuilding comglomerate.
- John E. Irving, leading member of the Irving family chiefly responsible for the family's construction, engineering and steel fabrication companies.
- Derek Oland, CEO and majority owner of Moosehead brewery, the largest 100% Canadian-owned brewery.
