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 as well as Alexander and Rachel Cohen, children of Ottawa journalist and bestselling author Andrew Cohen. 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.