Runnymede High School was completed and officially opened on November 11, 1927, by the
York High School Township Board, although classes had begun on September 6 for 250 students and a staff of 10 teachers led by Principal Bruce W. Clark. The original
Collegiate Gothic building was designed by Charles Wellington Smith and consisted of eight classrooms, three science labs, an auditorium, a library, a gymnasium, a cafeteria and a locker area on three floors. The school adopted the current name,
Runnymede Collegiate Institute, in 1928. Significant additions to the building were completed in 1928, 1958 and 1966. The building now includes over 30 classrooms, a swimming pool, two gyms, computers labs and a large cafeteria. The school was built on land, which had belonged to
John Scarlett. His estate was called "Runnymede" after the field of
Runnymede, where King
John of England signed
Magna Carta. The school's colours, red and white, derive partly from Scarlett's name, and also from the fact that the school opened in the year of Canada's Diamond Jubilee. Owing to their red school jackets, Runnymede students came to be known as Redmen in the 1930s. Over time an Indian head logo was adopted to go with the name. The Redmen name and logo were retired in 1994. In 1998, RCI became part of the newly amalgamated
Toronto District School Board after the dissolution of YBE. == Clubs==