
Rockcliffe Park Public School
'Rockcliffe Park Public School' (RPPS) is a
public elementary school in the
Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood of
Ottawa,
Ontario,
Canada. The school was founded in
1922. As it is located in the centre of Ottawa's wealthiest neighbourhood, it has long educated the children of politicians and ambassadors. In Canada, it is rare for elementary school students to attend
private schools. Near the school are Ottawa's two most prominent private schools,
Elmwood School and
Ashbury College, to which many students move after Rockcliffe.
Perhaps the most prominent former students are
Queen Beatrix and
Princess Irene, who attended the school while the
Dutch Royal Family was in exile during the
Second World War. Current
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's children attend the school, as did the three sons of
Pierre Trudeau and the children of
John Turner. Actor
Matthew Perry and Wikipedia expert
Simon Pulsifer also attended the school.
As well as Rockcliffe and neighbouring
New Edinburgh, the school also draws students from the
Lower Town and
Sandy Hill areas of Ottawa, for its
French immersion program, in which the majority of students are enrolled. The school is also well known for its annual Book Fair, a used book sale that acts as a fundraiser for the school. Rockcliffe is twinned with Guardian Angel Primary School in
Pitseng,
Lesotho. This twinning is helped by the organization
Help Lesotho. Rockcliffe Park is the first school in Canada to twin with another school in Lesotho.
Since the school has a major relationship to the Dutch Royal Family, the Embassy of the
Netherlands in
Ottawa is partnered with the school.
External links
★
Official site
★ Hughes, Graham. "This School is a Truce Slice of Society." ''The Ottawa Citizen.'' Friday, Jan 27, 2006. pg. F3