Accra High School celebrates 100 years anniversary in Accra

The Headmistress of Accra High School, Ms Evelyn Sagbil Nabia, has appealed to the government to make provision for the necessary facilities to enable it to achieve its full boarding status.

She explained that the provision of the facilities would help address the infrastructural deficit of the school and also improve teaching and learning.

Some of the facilities she listed were boys’ and girls’ dormitories to improve accommodation, an assembly hall, an administration block complex, staff accommoda­tion, a pick-up, and a bus to convey students to programmes.

Ms Nabia made the appeal at a durbar organised by the school on Saturday to climax its centenary celebration which was under the theme, “Accra High at 100: the State of Education, the School, and the Future.”

She also appealed for the estab­lishment of a visual art studio to complement the Science, Technol­ogy, and Engineering, Creative Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Centre and the completion of a 12-unit block that was started in 2018.

According to the headmistress, the centenary celebration was a time for all stakeholders to learn from the past, chart a new and promising future, and bring clarity to the school’s brand.

In furtherance, she noted that there was a need for the school to reclaim some of the facilities it lost to sister organisations due to a change of its boarding status to a day status some years back.

For instance, she appealed to the government to consider the relocation of the Regional Centre for the Teaching of French housed by the boys’ dormitory as it was an obstruction to the tenets of a boarding school.

Ms Nabia bemoaned the disci­pline-related issues such as lateness to school, students’ attacks on staff and other colleagues, and the use of mobile phones during lessons, the school faced despite the Wes­leyan foundation it was founded on.

She also highlighted the winning of the zonal independence debate, regional independence debate, mu­nicipal essay competition, national public speaking competition (first runner-up), and municipal science fair (second) as notable achieve­ments of the school.

The headmistress also urged the government to locate an Astro­Turf in the school to help improve sporting disciplines, while acknowl­edging the contributions made by various stakeholders, including the founding fathers and their families towards its growth.

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, in a speech read on his behalf by the Technical Advisor, Pre-Tertiary Education, Mrs Sheila Naah Boamah, con­gratulated the school for achieving such a milestone, and the personnel it had produced since its establish­ment.

“100 years is a time to reflect on how we have delivered education and to prepare for the needs of the future shaped by technology, you are among the few schools that have been equipped with STEAM Centres and hence, you must show leadership for the next 100 years,” he added.

For his part, Professor Reginald T. Ocansey, guest speaker for the occasion and an alumni, noted that it was important for the school to revisit its vision and mission to align with the 21st century school, skills and core values.

Also, he proposed the creation of additional houses to recognise the contributions made by oth­er families apart from the four founding fathers namely Rev. James Thomas Roberts, J. A. Glover-Ad­do, E.O. Nanka-Bruce, and J. Buckman.

Awards, cash prizes and citations were presented to students who performed excellently at various levels, as well as teaching and non-teaching staff for excellent service delivery and long-serving staff.

There was a rich cultural display by the school’s cultural group and the mounting of a parade by the cadet.

Gracing the colourful occasion were alumni of the school called onukpa(i), a Ga word which means Elder(s), clad in the anniversary cloth of black and white represent­ing the colours of the school with images of the founders printed on it, as well as current students, traditional rulers, headmasters/ headmistresses from other senior high schools, and the clergy.

 BY BENJAMIN

ARCTON-TETTEY