Two Rothesay Netherwood School Students Awarded Prestigious Rhodes Scholarships

Rothesay, NB (November 20, 2024) – Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS) is extremely pleased to announce that two RNS classmates and friends, Claire Wilbur and Alyssa Xu, have been named 2025 Rhodes Scholars. Wilbur and Xu, from Saint John, NB, and Bayside, NB, respectively, are two of 11 remarkable Canadian students awarded the illustrious prize. The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s preeminent and oldest graduate fellowship, based at the University of Oxford since 1903. In October 2025, Wilbur and Xu will join scholars from around the world to attend the University of Oxford and undertake fully funded post-graduate studies. 

This exciting news increases the number of RNS students who became Rhodes Scholars to seven.

“We could not be prouder of these two exceptional students,” says Paul McLellan, RNS Head of School. “Receiving the world-renowned Rhodes Scholarship is a testament to Claire’s and Alyssa’s academic achievements, leadership, and determination to make a positive impact in the world. They embody the values and mission of our school, and I have no doubt they will continue to inspire and achieve great things on the global stage. On behalf of the RNS community, we offer Claire and Alyssa and their families our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes at the University of Oxford next fall. We are certainly proud to have been a foundational piece of their transformational journey.”

 

Wilbur attended RNS for five years and was Head Prefect for the Class of 2021. She will graduate from Mount Allison University this spring with an honours degree in biochemistry. While at Mount Allison University,  she received a Bell Scholarship for academic excellence and citizenship and a Killiam Fellowship from the Fulbright Canada Foundation. She has a perfect 4.3 GPA, is captain of the university cross-country team, volunteers with the Soldier On program, and is a research assistant at the New Brunswick Heart Centre, studying high-risk cardiac interventions. Wilbur hopes to pursue a MSc in physiology, anatomy and genetics, and is interested in healthcare equity.

Xu is completing a bachelor of arts degree in neuroscience at Amherst College. She attended RNS for three years, during which time she played on the Prep Girls Hockey Team. She's a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and currently plays on the Amherst varsity hockey team, where she has been a finalist for the NCAA Elite 90 Academic Recognition Award, has twice been a NESCAC regular-season champion, and once a playoff champion. Xu is president of the Amherst chapter of Amnesty International, volunteers with Tapestry Mobile Health Clinic, and is an EMT for Amherst College Emergency Medical Services. She has conducted research at Yale Medical School and was an Emergency Department Clinical Research Associate at a Level I Trauma Center. Xu is also an active youth hockey coach and has published a story on AAPI advocacy in athletics. She is interested in an MSc in translational health sciences.

“Our eleven Rhodes Scholars deeply impressed the Selection Committees with their intelligence, passion, and most importantly, their humanity,” says Richard Pan, Canadian Secretary for the Rhodes Trust and the Chair for the Rhodes Scholarships in Canada. “We need leaders and doers like these in the world. They each carry a profound sense of responsibility to the communities around them and the will to make a difference. As proud as we are of our scholars’ achievements to date, we are even more excited for their contributions to come.”

 

The Rhodes selection process aims to choose young people with proven academic excellence who also show exceptional character, leadership, the energy to use their talents to the full and a commitment to solving humanity’s challenges. Every year, 11 Canadian scholarships are awarded across five regions; this year, both placements designated for the Maritime provinces were presented to New Brunswick students. 

RNS graduates have a 100% acceptance rate to universities and colleges, and the School’s graduating classes are awarded more than $1 million in scholarships annually. 

  

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MEDIA CONTACT
Heather MacLean, BPR, BJ, MPub
Director of Marketing and Communications
Rothesay Netherwood School
heather.maclean@rns.cc
506-848-0879

ABOUT ROTHESAY NETHERWOOD SCHOOL

Founded in 1877, Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS) is a co-ed boarding and day school for Grades 6 to 12 located in the beautiful, safe community of Rothesay, New Brunswick. RNS offers rigorous academics supported by low student-teacher ratios, a unique daily Advisor Program, and a world-class IB curriculum. Our mission is to provide a nurturing environment where students are empowered to embrace their individuality while pursuing the greater good. For more information, please visit rns.cc