The New Brunswick government passed legislation in 1903 permitting the consolidation of rural schools. The Macdonald Consolidated School (MCS) in Kingston was both the province's first consolidated school and its first public high school in a rural community.
The opening of MCS on August 29th, 1904 marked the beginning of a major transformation in public education for New Brunswick's rural youth. Although it would be over sixty years before one room schools ceased to operate, MCS was the beginning of their end.
The school's state-of-the-art building and its operational costs for the first three years, were financed by Sir William C. Macdonald, a wealthy Montreal based tobacco merchant. The school introduced an enhanced curriculum designed to meet the unique needs of rural youth. All students were taught courses in gardening and nature. Older students were assigned their own garden plot to develop and manage, while younger students shared plots. Domestic science and manual training were also part of the curriculum. The school introduced a new student conveyance system to transport students from outlying districts to school. These innovations, along with the introduction of highly qualified teachers, led to the doubling of student attendance. Of the four MCS schools opened in Canada by the Macdonald Rural School Fund, Kingston's MCS is the only one that retains its public school vocation to this day.