Rockcliffe Park Public School (RPPS) is a public elementary school

Primary education

A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

 in the Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The school was founded in 1922. Located in the centre of Ottawa's wealthiest neighbourhood, it has long educated the children of politicians and ambassadors. Near the school are Ottawa's two most prominent private schools, Elmwood School

Elmwood School (Ottawa)

Elmwood School is an independent day school for girls located in Rockcliffe Park in the city of Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 1915 and is an International Baccalaureate World School...

 and Ashbury College

Ashbury College

Ashbury College is an independent day and boarding school located in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 1891 and moved to its current venue in 1910. Previously, it occupied what now houses Canadian Senate offices. It is an International Baccalaureate World School, a member of the...

, to which many students move after Rockcliffe.

Perhaps the most prominent former students are Princess Beatrix

Beatrix of the Netherlands

Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...

 and Princess Irene, who attended the school while the Dutch Royal Family was in exile during the Second World War. Current Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

's daughter attends the school, as did his son, the three sons of Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...

 and the children of John Turner

John Turner

John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....

. Actor Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry (actor)

Matthew Langford Perry is a Canadian-American actor and comedian, best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing on the popular, long-running NBC television sitcom Friends...

  also attended the school.

As well as Rockcliffe and neighbouring New Edinburgh

New Edinburgh

New Edinburgh is a small neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It is located to the east of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, to the east the border is less regular but is marked in part by Springfield...

, the school also draws students from the Lower Town

Lower Town

Lowertown is a district in the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to the east of downtown. It is bounded roughly by Rideau Street to the south, Sussex Drive and Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the west, and the Rideau River to the east...

 and Sandy Hill

Sandy Hill

Sandy Hill is a bilingual neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario located just east of downtown. The neighbourhood is bordered on the west by the Rideau Canal and on the east by the Rideau River. To the north it stretches to Rideau Street and the Byward Market area while to the south it is bordered by...

 areas of Ottawa, for its French immersion

French immersion

French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which a child who does not speak French as his or her first language receives instruction in school in French...

 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 Mokoena Primary School in Butha-Buthe

Butha-Buthe

Butha-Buthe is the capital city or camptown of the Butha-Buthe District in Lesotho. It has a population of approximately 10,000 . It is named for Butha-Buthe Mountain to the north of the town, which King Moshoeshoe I used as his a fortification and headquarters from 1821 to 1823, during his war...

, Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

. This twinning is helped by the organization Help Lesotho

Help Lesotho

Help Lesotho is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 2004 by Dr. Peg Herbert. Based in Ottawa, Help Lesotho is made up primarily of Canadians, working to help prevent HIV/AIDS in the country of Lesotho, located in the southern region of Africa. Dr...

. 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

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

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