Professor Ezekiel Stone Wiggins founded Thompson's School in 1874, a boy's day school housed upstairs in Whelpley Hall near the Rothesay railway station, in Rothesay, an affluent suburb of Saint John, New Brunswick.

[4] The school was intended to prepare students for enrollment into the Royal Military College of Canada, which was established in 1877.

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.

Jackson, while Dr. Bonnycastle served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[6] In 1985, the RCS campus served as the backdrop for the William Hurt and Marlee Matlin feature film Children of a Lesser God.