Rothesay Netherwood School

Rothesay Netherwood School is an Atlantic Canadian, independent day and boarding university-preparatory school for grades 6-12 located in Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada. It has been an International Baccalaureate World School since April 2007. It is an accredited member of CESI (Canadian Educational Standards Institute),^[1] a leading member of CAIS (Canadian Association of Independent Schools),^[2] a founding member of the ACIS (Atlantic Conference of Independent Schools), a member of CIS (Conference of Independent Schools)^[3] and a member of TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools).^[4] RNS is the most recent Canadian addition to the international organization Round Square. The current Head of School is Paul G. Kitchen (appointed 1987), with Paul McLellan and Dean Van Doleweerd as Assistant Heads of School. The school is noted for its comprehensive curriculum integrating information technology, Outward Bound excursions, and daily participation in sports for all students.

Rothesay Netherwood School is an independent private school offering both the Canadian High School Diploma as well as the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma. For a number of years, the students of the graduating class have received 99% - 100% university placement. The school's campus is located on a sprawling 200 acres (810,000 m²) overlooking the Kennebecasis River in Rothesay, New Brunswick.

Introduction

Rothesay Netherwood School was originally founded in 1877 and 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 since the 1890s and officially merged in 1984 for financial reasons. The merged school was known as Rothesay Collegiate School Netherwood until 2002 when the current name was adopted. The current campus is that of the original Rothesay Collegiate School. The campus of Netherwood School for girls was sold and developed at the time of the merger.

History

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 the 1880s the school was bought by George Lloyd, later leader of the group of colonists who founded the town of Lloydminster, Alberta and Bishop of Saskatchewan, who renamed it Rothesay College for Boys.

In 1891, the school was put on firm financial footing by local prominent citizen James F. Robertson, who renamed it Rothesay Collegiate School and moved it to its present location while adding boarding facilities. Lloyd remained headmaster until 1900. 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.

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 co-principal with Dr. Susan B. Ganong at a time when it had only nine students. One of the most important people in the school's history, Dr. Ganong purchased the facility in 1912 and built it into an internationally recognized institution of high scholastic standing. She presided over Netherwood until her retirement in 1944 when she sold the school to the Netherwood Foundation Limited. Dr. Ganong was succeeded by several headmistresses that presided for relatively short terms.

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 separate campuses. Nevertheless, 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 they would both be closing. A group of parents and alumni came forward with a proposal to obtain financing and combine the two schools. The schools, now merged into RCS-Netherwood, were saved but this success came at the expense of the sacrificed Netherwood Campus.

Recent years

Between 1984 and 1991 over 2 million dollars were raised in the Call to Excellence Campaign led by Jack Hickman, allowing the school to continue operation; since the end of this first campaign the school has increased its enrolment by two-and-a-half times. 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 4, 2006 and is the Junior Girls Residence. Update: In 2009, a dining hall was added to the campus, Heritage Hall.

Today

Campus

Rothesay Netherwood School is located in Rothesay, New Brunswick, approximately ten minutes east of the city of Saint John, New Brunswick. The campus is situated on 200 acres (810,000 m²) of land in the Kennebecasis River valley, with much of this space is given over to woodlands and sports fields. The campus consists of:

• Four boarding residences housing up to 140 students: Mackay House, Quinn House, Kirk House and Netherwood House;
• Thirteen houses and nine apartments for faculty;
• Heritage Hall - newest dining hall, with 3 giant projecter screens.
• South House, providing faculty offices and housing student artwork;
• Collegiate Hall, the main administration building;
• Fawcett Hall - newest library;
• The Memorial Chapel, designed by G. Ernest Fairweather and F. DeLancey Robinson in 1923;
• School House, with seventeen classrooms;
• Hibbard Hall (The English and Science building) with four laboratories;
• The Susan B. Ganong Theatre, with seating for 200;
• The Memorial Arena;
• The Irving Gymnasium, with regulation basketball, volleyball and badminton courts and a climbing wall;
• Five soccer and rugby fields;
• Two squash courts;
• A fitness center;
• Numerous walking trails

The school's chapel features several stained glass windows including `Resurrection of Christ`; `Virgin and Child` (1946); `Light of the World` (1945); `St. George`; `Military figure`; and `Boy Christ in the carpenter's Shop` by Robert McCausland Limited. In 1985, the RCS campus served as the backdrop for the William Hurt feature film "Children of a Lesser God". Many of the buildings on campus were prominently featured in the film.

School fees

Tuition fees for the 2010-2011

     school year are as follows:

• Day Student (Grades 6-8): $17,600
• Day Student (Grades 9-12): $18,800
• Canadian Boarding Student (Grades 6-12): $31,100
• US & Caribbean Boarding Student (Grades 6-12): $38,650
• International Boarding Student (Grades 6-12): $46,300

All fees are quoted in Canadian Dollars (CAD)

Notable alumni

• Duncan Hewitt, first Canadian shot down in World War II's Battle of Britain.
• James Irving, leading member of the Irving family and head of the J.D. Irving pulp and paper and shipbuilding comglomerate.
• Derek Oland, CEO and majority owner of Moosehead brewery, the largest 100% Canadian-owned brewery.

External links

• Rothesay Netherwood School
• RNS Profile on Boarding School Review
• RNS Profile on Our Kids Media
• RNS Profile on Independent Schools Directory
• RNS Profile on TopPrivateSchools.ca

References