Achimota School (formerly Prince of Wales College and School, Achimota , now nicknamed Motown ), is a co-educational boarding school located in Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school was founded in 1924 by Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey and Rev. Alexander (Alec) Garden Fraser. It was officially opened in 1927 by Sir Frederick Guggisberg, then the Governor of the British Gold Coast colony. Achimota, modeled on the British public school system, is the first gender mixed school established on the Gold Coast.
The school has educated many African leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah, Edward Akufo-Addo, Jerry John Rawlings, and John Evans Atta Mills who are all former Head of State of Ghana. Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama has basic education there while former Prime Minister of Ghana Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia also teaches at Achimota. Also included in the list of heads of African countries is the first Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and Sir Dawda Jawara, the first head of state of Gambia. Achimota alumni/alumni known as "Akora".
The school motto is Ut Omnes Unum Sint which means "It's all possible one", a reference to the philosophy expressed by the founders who started in the context of school life, black and white, male and female, everyone must integrate and merge synergistically for the good of all. The stylish piano-key design of the Achimota School badge was described by Aggrey at the time: "You can play type songs on black buttons only, and you can play a kind of song on the white button only, but for perfect harmony you have to use black key and white ".
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Histori
After the First World War, J.K. and the Gold Coast Government feel the need for further education. As the Guggisberg says, "Regardless of the existence of one or two secondary educational institutions, the intellectual disparity between Africans who have completed their education at the University of England and semi-educated Africans in our elementary school is very dangerous. to sympathize with the legitimate aspirations of Africa for progress and for the greater part of the Government of this country, but if we want to help him to do this, if we want to protect the masses from the hasty and unplanned schemes of possible local demagogues, we must accelerate as soon as our way will allow to fill the gap between the two classes. "
Achimota College was established as part of Guggisberg's plan to reform the Gold Coast education system. In August 1920, Guggisberg met and became friends with Dr. The native-born James Aggrey who is on the Gold Coast as a member of the African Education Commission Phelps Stokes Fund. In 1922, as a result of the Phelps-Stokes Commission's 1920s report on education, Guggisberg appointed a committee to review its recommendations for the Gold Coast education reform. The committee recommended the establishment of a comprehensive institute at Achimota to provide general secondary education, teacher training and technical education for male students. Achimota College was later conceived, thanks to the efforts and support of Chiefs such as Nene Sir Emmanuel Mate Kole, The Constable of Manya Krobo; Nana Sir Ofori Atta, Omanen from Akyem Abuakwa and Nana Amonoo V, Omanen from Anomabo, as well as eminent statesmen at the time such as Hon. Benjamin W. Quartey Quaye Papafio, Hon. F. V. Nanka-Bruce, both from Accra; the Hon. Thomas Hutton-Mills, Sr. Accra, Hon. E. J. P. Brown from Cape Coast, and Hon. J. E. Casely-Hayford from Sekondi.
The Colonial Government is meant to implement its policy of establishing an excellent middle institution in which teachers and students will be trained. The Legislative Council went on to approve the 1923-24 budget for the establishment of Prince of Wales College and School, and in March 1924, Guggisberg laid the foundation stone. Reverend Alexander G. Fraser was the first Headmaster (1924-1935), and Dr. James Aggrey was the first Vice-Principal (1924-1927). Fraser was formerly Principal of Trinity College, Kandy, an elite school in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and hailed as the greatest colonial principal of his time by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Aggrey campaigned vigorously for women's education when the idea was unpopular, and held the belief that to educate a man was to educate an individual, while educating a woman had the benefit of reaching far beyond family and society. This led to an increase in the number of places offered for girls by the College.
From 1924 until it opened on January 28, 1927, Guggisberg, Fraser, and Aggrey worked together to realize Guggisberg's dream of building first-class co-education schools and colleges. The University of the Gold Coast, now known as the University of Ghana, is rooted in Achimota College. The University of Ghana holds the annual Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Anniversary series to honor the contributions of the founders for education in Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) also takes root in the Achimota College Technical School.
Achimota, originally known as Prince of Wales College and School, was officially opened on January 28, 1927 by Gold Coast Governor Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg. The guest of honor at the opening ceremony was Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, after whom the school was named. As one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind, known for its high academic standards and culture, he trained Pan-African leaders during the Sub-Saharan African struggle for independence from colonial rule. From its student institutions and college teaching there are many prominent African figures, including some heads of state, politicians, academics, scientists, doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators, architects, diplomats, computer scientists, agricultural experts, accountants, artists, business leaders and industrialists. In a 2004 award to Akora Adrian Sherwood, an old English teacher at Achimota, Ghana's High Commission in London praised Achimota, citing the doctrine of the founder of the school, to enable its graduates "to know life that is alive and go out. from it as living water to the thirsty ground. "
Music always plays a very important role in school life. Achimota's achievements in achieving high standards in this field led to the establishment of the Ghana National Symphony Orchestra and music department and undertaking art education at the University of Education, Winneba. From the outset, Achimota placed a special emphasis on the value of one's hand in agriculture, technical and vocational. Achimota has attached himself to the standard of excellence in any field of education that meets the national needs.
Maps Achimota School
Campus life
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"Despite being located in the desert hills, perhaps water rises to you, and from your children a wider stream of rivers of eternity" - quotes from the praise of the school
Achimota School occupies more than two square miles (525 acres) of prime real estate amidst the Achimota Forest Reserve in the Accra Metropolitan Area. The school's colonial architecture and planned landscape make it visually pleasing for a campus tour and its rural surroundings. The campus facility consists of a library, a square cadet, two chapels, one of which is the Aggrey Memorial Chapel; three dining rooms, two in the eastern complex and one on the Western campus of two gymnasia, Achimota School Post Office, wide sports field, swimming pool, cricket oval, basketball court, tennis and squash courts, and arboretum. There are several bungalows on campus to teach staff members.
Achimota School Explanation is initially provided below:
"Achimota College, on the Gold Coast, seven miles inland from Accra is a high school boarding school in West Africa, where 600 West African boys and girls receive a complete education of European or American children.This is a secondary school, a school teacher and university training is rolled into one, and in planning, design and equipment, it becomes a comparison with any educational institution anywhere Erection in 1925 costs £ 660,000 and maintenance costs Ã, £ 50,000 per year. swimming pools, vast playgrounds, nature reserves, model farms and model villages for college employees, also have hospitals, museums, libraries and self-printing. Students live in residential blocks located around the grounds, each accommodating 60 students and divided into 4 dormitories. "
Close to the campus of the school center is the Achimota Golf Club, the Achimota School Police Station, a staff village for non-teaching school employees also called Anumle, a forest reserve, a large farm, and Achimota 45 bed, as well as a community around the campus.
House
The Achimota School has seventeen male and female homes in the Eastern and Western Campuses.
Male home
- Fraser House (W) - named after Rev. Alexander (Alec) Garden Fraser
- Aggrey House (E) - named after James Kwegyir Aggrey. Aggrey House is the first house on the school campus.
- Guggisberg House (E) - named after Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg
- Gyamfi House (E) - named after former students and members of the Asante royal family. Gyamfi died when a student at Achimota, and one of the consequences of his death was that the Greater Asante decided to have his own version of Achimota closer to home, thus born Prempeh College.
- Cadbury House (E) - named Cadbury
- Lugard House (E) - named Lord Lugard, former Nigerian Governor
- Livingstone House (E) - named after David Livingstone, a missionary explorer from Africa in Africa
- Kwapong House (W) - named Professor Alexander Kwapong, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, and Vice-Chancellor of the UN University located in Tokyo (The First Vice-Chancellor of the African University of Ghana, Legon)
Female home
- Kingsley House (E) - named after Mary Kingsley, an English ethnographic and scientific writer and explorer
- McCarthy House (E) - named after Sir Charles McCarthy, former Governor of British Forts and Castle in West Africa. (McCarthy's house was once a men's house and School of Engineering)
- Slessor House (E) - named Mary Mitchell Slessor, a Scottish missionary in Nigeria
- Clark House (E) - named after British missionary Mary Clark
- Susan Ofori-Atta House (W) - named Susan Ofori-Atta, Ghana's first female doctor
- Anne Baeta Jiagge House (W) - named after Annie Jiagge, the first female lawyer and judge in Ghana
- O. A. A. House (W) - named in honor of alumni and members of the Achimotan Lama Association. (formerly the men's house, House of Stopford)
- J. E. A. Mills House (E) - named after the late John Evans Atta Mills, former President of the Republic of Ghana
- Joyce Aryee House (E) - named Joyce Aryee, founder of Salt and Light Ministries
Learning environment
Continuing in 2002, lessons in aspects of Ghana culture such as drums, dancing and woodcut were changed in an effort to incorporate more national culture into the curriculum. Regardless of the academic and intellectual development of its students, the school emphasizes practical skills and character training. The school runs on a three-term academic calendar from mid-September to late June.
There are two departments, two designated Schools, and a Unit of Home Sciences that are responsible for the teaching of the subjects offered. The Department of Science and Mathematics teaches courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, agriculture, and computer science, while the art department teaches English and French, government, history, economics, geography, Christian dogma, and social sciences. The music school teaches music, trains the Aggrey Chapel Choir and organizes music festivals; art schools teach fine arts; and the home science department teaches home economics, catering, nutrition, life management, housekeeping, bookkeeping and clothing design.
In the first two years, students must take physical education and "religious and moral education" each term, taught by the sports department and chaplain, respectively. Each student takes seven or eight subjects (depending on the program) for every three-year period of their secondary school; In addition to the three or four elective subjects taken by each student in a course of study, each student must take four core subjects in mathematics, English, science and social studies.
The three-year school program (nine terms) leads to the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), in general science, agricultural sciences, general art, visual arts and home economics, all administered by the West African Test Board (WAEC) in May their last year
Head and head
Tie to a similar school
Trinity College, Kandy, Ceylon is now Sri Lanka (founded 1872): One of the founders, Reverend Alexander G. Fraser (headmaster) is the principal Trinity College, Kandy from 1904 to 1924. He was the first principal of Achimota from 1924-1935. Also, Pdt. Robert Stopford who headed Trinity College, Kandy from 1935-1941, was Achimota's headmaster from 1941-1945. The famous Aggrey Memorial Chapel, the venue for morning services, weekly Sunday services and other important events, is modeled on the open-style architecture of Trinity College Chapel, Kandy. Aggrey Chapel occupies one of the most popular places in Accra to hold weddings.
Trivia
- Mascot School mascot is a mythical creature called "Kuziunik" and is represented by a wooden gargoyle. In previous years, there was a tradition known as the "Kuziunik Night". The current location of Kuziunik is on the shelf to the east of the school library wall.
- Publications: Achimota School has two student magazines, "The Achimotan" and the latest "The Motowner" both of which are published periodically. Two bulletins are also on campus: Blueprint (Originally a Guggisberg House publication) and The Motown Express.
- Q.A: Achimota School has a Parent-Teacher Association (P.T.A) formed in Mr. era. A. P. Rudwick, Principal (1965-1977). The body meets every term to discuss issues relating to student welfare and school building.
- Rank: Achimota School is included in one of 100 Top Africa SMAs based on a 2003 list compiled by Africa Almanac.
- Academic Competition: Achimota School has won the National Science and Mathematics competition twice (1998 and 2004). Achimota School emerged as the first winner in the 2009 National Science and Mathematics Quiz.
- University Leadership: Achimota has also produced a total of about ten vice-chancellors at Ghana's two leading public research universities, the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST.
The Old Achimotan Association
The Old Achimotan Association is an umbrella alumni organization for past students from Achimota School, Ghana. OAA certifies the formation of regional groups, branches and years to carry out their objectives. OAA members are known as "Akoras".
- History : OAA was started in 1929 by the first Principal of Prince of Wales College, Pdt. Alec G. Fraser, whose son Sandy Fraser, then a member of the School Staff Achimota, was the first organizing secretary. Sandy spent his vacation to the towns and villages where Old Achimotans worked to explain the goals and objectives of OAA. OAA's first Annual General Meeting was held at school on December 23, 1930, and then a year later. Participants spend three or four days at the school campus.
- Constitution : The OAA is governed by the constitution, whose primary purpose is "the establishment of a union bond between the Old Achimotans and the School to promote the preservation of their interests in the School and their willingness to assist in their welfare, the ideals that Achimota founded ".
- National Executive Committee : OAA affairs and funds are managed by the National Executive Committee. The Committee consists of three officers from the Association, two ex officio officers, the immediate President of the Association and eight other members. The National Executive Committee is elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The OAA Alumni Office assists the National Executive Committee in its work.
References
External links
- Official website
- Media related to Achimota School on Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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