Regions With The Most Category ‘A’ Schools In Ghana(2023)
In Ghana, most regions can boast of having more than one grade ‘A’ senior high school in their locality. In today’s article, we will be looking at the regions in Ghana with the most grade ‘A’ Schools or the regions with the most best schools in Ghana.
1. EASTERN REGION
The Eastern is undoubtedly the region with the most grade ‘A’ Schools in Ghana. The region has 9 grade ‘A’ senior high schools as of January, 2023. They include;
1. Okuapeman Senior High School
Okuapeman Senior High School is a coeducational second-cycle institution in Akropong in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The school was established in 1957 by barrister Charles Opoku Acheampong, who had been a pupil in the chambers of Edward Akufo-Addo. The school has about 2,500 students, including special students.
Year Founded: 1957
Motto: Semper Primus (“Always first”)’
School Colours: Brown and White
2. Aburi Girls’ Senior High School
Aburi Girls’ Senior High School, formerly Aburi Girls’ Secondary School, also known as ABUGISS, is a Presbyterian all-girls senior high boarding school located south of Aburi in the Eastern Region of Ghana which is also one of the best category A Schools in Ghana.
The boys’ school of Aburi Girls is Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School also known as “PreSec”. The school currently has eight houses: Irene Anderson House, Edinburgh House, Royal Park House, Barradale House, Kilsyth House, Aberdeen House, Chapel House, Sylvia Asempa House.
Year Founded: 1946
School Colours: Yellow and Green
3. St. Rose’s Senior High School
St Roses Senior High (Rosec or Roses) is an all-female second-cycle high school in Akwatia in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The school has an ongoing alliance with its fellow Roman Catholic boys’ school St. Peter’s Boys Senior Secondary School (called Sperosa).
4. Ofori Panin Senior High School
Ofori Panin Senior High School (OPASS) is a co-educational second-cycle institution in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Ofori Panin School (formerly Tafo-Kukurantumi Senior High school, now nicknamed OPASS), is a co-educational boarding school located at Tafo in Akyem, Eastern Region, Ghana. The school was founded in 1961 by Kwame Nkrumah.
The foundation stone of the building was laid on 19 May 1962 by Hon. Kofi Asante Ofori Attah, M.P. for Akim Abuakwa and Minister of Justice at that time. An alumnus/alumna of Ofori Panin is known as an “Opassian”.
The motto of the school is “Dwen Na Som” meaning “Think and Serve”, a reference to the founders’ expressed philosophy that starting in the context of school life, male and female, everyone should serve with a thoughtful mind and be ready and willing to serve yourself, your school, family, nation and the world at large.
The school crest was designed using the leopard and other items. The leopard signifies strength and intelligence, a torch, which shows light and brightness on the path to victory, a cutlass that represents the farming community of Akim Abuakwa, a tree signifies the rain forest of Akyem Abuakwa which provides fertile land for the production of timber and cocoa, the backbone of Ghana’s economy.
5. St. Peter’s Senior High School
St. Peter’s Senior Secondary School, or PERSCO, is a Roman Catholic boys’ senior high school in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The school was established in 1957 by the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD). The school is located in the town of Nkwatia Kwahu on the Kwahu Ridge.
6. Krobo Girls’ Senior High School
Krobo Girls’ Senior High School is an all-female second-cycle institution in Odumasi Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The School was founded in March 1927 by Scottish Missionaries. Krobo Girls’ Senior High School was founded by female Scottish Missionaries in March 1927, as a Middle School for girls.
A two-year teacher training college for women was added to the girls’ school in 1944 on an experimental basis under the accelerated plan of the government.
The College then constituted a Certificate B Teacher Training College for women in 1951 under the management of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
In 1962, the two-year teacher training college was changed to a four-year certificate A Teacher Training College for women and in September 1973, the Krobo Girls Middle School was phased out while the training college was converted to a girl’s secondary school, under the consolidation of Teacher Education Programme by the Ministry of Education.
7. Ghana Senior High, Koforidua
Ghana Senior High School, Koforidua, popularly known as GHANASS, is a high school in Koforidua. It was preceded by the establishment of two colleges that ultimately combined into what is currently known as The Beacon of the East.
In 1943, Mr. Fred Addae and Mr. Francis Adjei Tetebo established a school with an initial population of 16 boys called Phoenix College in a private temporary building. By 1950, an increase in student population necessitated the movement of the school into a new location that currently houses the Normal Technical Institute, Koforidua.
The change in location brought in its wake a change in the school’s name from Phoenix College to Christ College. The location of the premises had to change again after some time to respond to the increasing student population.
Thus, the school moved into Effiduase where it was housed at the current premises of Effiduase Police Quarters in Koforidua, Ghana.
This was made possible by the efforts of Rev. Dr. Nimako, the first MP for New Juaben Constituency, Mr. WT Wutor, a contractor, and Nana Frempong Mposo II, the then chief of Effiduase. During this period, Mr. Francis Adjei Tetebo was the Principal of the college. Mr. Fred Addae the headmaster had then died.
8. Koforidua Senior High Technical
Koforidua Senior High Technical School, also called Sec-Tech, is a Senior High School located in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. As of December 2011, the school has over 2,200 students. The school existed as a Boys School since its establishment, until recently few girls were introduced of about 5% of the overall student population.
Because of the initial boy population, the slogan Mmarima Mma really sufficed which means when transliterated, Sons of Men. (It is an Akan (Twi) language.)
The number increased much within the time period of the 4-year schooling program that was introduced by the Ghana Education Service. Sec-Tech has over 120 active teachers and about 90 non-teaching staff who are dedicated to providing the best available services to their students.
The school is headed (known as Headmaster) by Mr. S.P. Foli (the first old boy to be appointed)who took over from Mr. Bempong J.K who hails from Akwatia (as at the time of writing), born in 1953.
He headed this institute for over 9 years. The school has the largest stretch of land in Koforidua, if not the whole of the Eastern Region. Most and bigger sporting events are held often in the school because of its spacious environment.
9. Pope John Senior High And Min. Seminary
Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary (formerly St John’s Seminary and College, nicknamed POJOSS), is an all-boys boarding school, located at Effiduase, Koforidua, in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It was established in 1958 by Bishop Joseph Oliver Bowers SVD as a Catholic seminary for boys who wished to become priests.
Students are offered courses such as general arts, general science, business, and visual arts to pursue and after their stay in the school, sit an external examination called the West African Senior School Certificate Examination to be placed in any of the tertiary institutions in the country.
The students of the school are usually referred to as Pojomma while the alumni are addressed as Pojoba, into which they respond Daasebre. Since its establishment in 1958, the school has achieved many successes and has produced great men for Ghana and the world over. There are 2100 boys in the school.
2. GREATER ACCRA REGION
The region of has 7 grade “A’ Schools and it is the second region with most grade ‘A’ Schools in Ghana. They include;
1. Accra Academy
The Accra Academy was the first private academy to be established in the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana. The academy is one of the foremost secondary educational institutions in Ghana and operates as a non-denominational day and boarding boys’ school, located at Bubuashie, near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region.
The academy runs courses in business, science, general arts, general agric, and visual arts, leading to the award of a West African Senior School Certificate.
Motto: Esse Quam Videri
Founded: 20th July 1931
2. Accra Girls’ Senior High School
Another Category A School in Ghana is Accra Girls’ Senior High School commonly known as AGISS is an all-female second cycle institution in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
The school operates as a non-denominational day and boarding school. The school runs courses in business, g neral science, general arts, home economics, and visual arts, leading to the award of a West African Senior High School Certificate (WASSCE).
Motto: Aim High
Founded: 30th September 1960
3. Achimota School
Achimota School is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school was founded in 1924 by Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, and the Rev. Alec Garden Fraser. It was formally opened in 1927 by Sir Frederick Guggisberg, then Governor of the British Gold Coast colony. Achimota, modeled on the British public school system, was the first mixed-gender school to be 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 all of whom are former Heads of State of Ghana. Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama had his primary education there while former Prime Minister of Ghana, Kofi Abrefa Busia also taught at Achimota.
Motto: Ut Omnes Unum Sint
(That they all may be one)
Founded: 28 January 1927
4. St. Mary’s Senior High School
St Mary’s Senior High School is an all-female second-cycle institution in Korle Gonno in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
St. Mary’s Senior High School was established on 6th February 1950 by the Catholic missionary sisters known as Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit(SSPS). The school started with ten girls and a staff of two(2) Reverend sisters namely: the late Reverend Sisters, Jane, and Rosette. ,
Motto: Truth and Virtue
5. St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School
St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School is a Ghanaian public day senior high school for boys in the Osu, district of Accra in, the Greater Accra Region. The school is currently located in Cantonments, a suburb of Accra. It was established mainly to provide education for boys of the Accra Archdiocese whose parents could not afford the high cost then of sending their male children to boarding schools. It was among five secondary schools established in 1952.
Motto: Veritas Liberat
(The truth shall set you free)
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6. Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC)
Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC) is a prestigious secondary boarding school for boys, in Legon, Accra, Ghana. It was founded in 1938, under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast.
The Basel missionary, Nicholas Timothy Clerk (1862–1961), who served as the first Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast from 1918 to 1932, used his tenure to advocate for the establishment of the secondary school.
Motto: In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen
7. Tema Senior High School
Tema Senior High School was opened on Friday, September 22nd, 1961 with an initial intake of 52 students. The number increased to 105 by the end of the month.
There were 3 Form 1 streams [A, B, and C]. These continued to the Sixth Form Level and turned out the first batch of students in 1968.
The subjects offered at the ‘Advanced Level were: English, Economics, Geography, History, and Logic for the Arts and Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Pure and Applied Mathematics for the Sciences.
3. CENTRAL REGION
The central region is known for its numerous senior high schools in Ghana. It is the region where second cycle education in Ghana began. The region can boast of having 6 grade ‘A’ Schools. They include;
1. Adisadel College
Adisadel College, popularly known as “ADISCO”, is an Anglican boys’ boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. Key aspects of the school’s administration and curriculum were originally modelled on the English public school system during the colonial era.
The present curriculum falls within the Senior High School system in Ghana, with overall oversight by the Ghana Education Service. The word “Adisco” is a portmanteau of “Adisadel” and “College”. The school is named after what used to be a small village on the outskirts of the Cape Coast township – Adisadel Village.
In recent times, the village has expanded considerably and gradually merged imperceptibly with the main township.
Motto: Vel Primus Vel Cum Primis (Either the first or with the first)
Year Founded: 1910
Scool Colors: Black and White
2. Holy Child School, Cape Coast
Holy Child School, also known as Angel’s Hill, is a female second-cycle institution in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana.
In 2003, the school was ranked among the best 10 schools in Africa, producing the best overall female student in the 2003 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSSCE) Holy Child School also produced the best overall student, Jochebed Adwoa Sutherland, and the second-best overall student, Audrey Emefa Awuttey for the 2017 West African Senior School Examination, WASSCE.
Year Founded: 1946
Motto: Facta Non-Verba
School Colours: Yellow and Brown
3. Mfantsipim School
Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast.
Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and the first headmaster was James Picot, a French scholar, who was only 18 years old on his appointment.
Mfantsipim is nicknamed “The School” by its old boys for the fact that several other schools in Ghana such as Prempeh College were born out of it, as these schools were started with students from Mfantsipim.
Year Founded: 1876
Motto: Dwen Hwɛ Kan
4. St. Augustine’s College
St. Augustine’s College is an all-male academic institution in Cape Coast, Ghana. The school started at Amissano, a village near Elmina, in 1930. The Roman Catholic institution was established to serve as a training college and seminary. The school was named after St. Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 AD). The motto of the college is Omnia Vincit Labor, meaning “Perseverance conquers All”.The school has a total of 11 houses.
Year Founded: 1930
School Colours: Green And White
5. Wesley Girls’ High School
WGHS, Ghana, is an educational institution for girls in Cape Coast, founded in 1836, and named after the founder of Methodism, John Wesley.
The school was established in 1836 with 25 girls by the wife of a Methodist minister. It started as a primary school with the aim of offering girls training in reading and writing, sewing and housekeeping, and spiritual development.
Wesley Girls’ High School was ranked 68th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon the quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumnae, school profile, internet, and news visibility.
Year Founded: 1836
6. Mfantsiman Girls’ Senior High School
Mfantsiman Girls’ Senior High School is an all-girls second-cycle institution in Saltpond in the Central Region of Ghana which was founded in 1960 by Kwame Nkrumah as Saltpond Girls’ Secondary School.
Year Founded: 1960
4. ASHANTI REGION
The region also has a number of grade ‘A’ Schools similar to that of the Central region. It has a total of 6 grade ‘A’ secondary schools. They include;
1. Opoku Ware School
Opoku Ware School, often referred to as OWASS, is an all-boys high school in Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi, which is the capital of the Ashanti region of Ghana.
It was established in 1952, as one of the five Catholic schools in Ghana that year. The school was named after Asante King Opoku Ware I.
Founded: 1952
Motto: Deus Lux Scientiae
Color: Blue
2. T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School
T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School is a coeducational second-cycle public educational institution in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Founded: January 30, 1950
Motto: Knowledge is Power
3. Kumasi High School
Kumasi High School often referred to as KUHIS, is a boys’ senior high school in the Ashanti region of Ghana.
It was established in 1962, by S. K. Amoah. The students are known collectively as Mmerantee. It is located in Gyinyase near Ahinsan Estate. The motto of the school is Truth conquers.
Motto: Truth conquers.
School Colour(s): Peach (Joff Shirt)
4. Prempeh College
Prempeh College is a public secondary school for boys located in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region, Ghana.
The school was founded in 1949 by the Asanteman traditional authority, the British Colonial Government, the Methodist Church Ghana, and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
Prempeh College was founded through a collaboration between the Kumasi Traditional Council, the Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the then Gold Coast, and the British Colonial Government.
Motto: Akan: Suban ne Nimdeε (Character and Integrity)
School Colours: Green and Gold
5. St. Louis Senior High School
St. Louis Senior High School is an all-female school located at Oduom, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
St. Louis Senior High School was opened in 1952, with an initial group of 12 girls.
Motto: UT-SINT-UNUM DIEU LE VEULT
School Colours: Green and White
6. Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ Senior High School
Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ Senior High School is an all-female Senior High School that was established in 1951 by Ghana’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The school was founded in 1960 with funds from the Ghana Education Trust. Yaa Asantewaa is named after the Queen mother of Ejisu Yaa Asantewaa who led a war against the British Colonialists.
The school is located in a suburb called Tanoso in the Atwima Mponua District in Kumasi – Ashanti Region.
Motto: Love and Service
School Colours: Skyblue and White
This is to serve as a guide for students and parents who want to know the category of schools in Ashanti Region when choosing senior high schools within the Region.
5. WESTERN REGION
1. Arch Bishop Porter Girls’ Senior High School
The Archbishop Porter Girls’ Secondary School (A.P.G.S.S.) is a female second cycle institution in Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana. Archbishop Porter Girls’ Secondary School is a Catholic institution within the Ghana Public Education System. While it welcomes girls of all religious denominations. The school is sited on a hill in Fijai, Takoradi, in the Western Region of Ghana and it has come to be known as “the hill of tranquillity” for its peaceful and serene academic atmosphere.
2. Ghana Senior High Technical
The Ghana Secondary Technical School is a Science and Technology oriented high school located in Takoradi on the west coast of Ghana. It is the third oldest high school in Ghana – the oldest ‘non-missionary high school. The school was founded on 9 August 1909 in Accra as Accra Technical School and, after the name had been changed to Government Technical School, it moved to its current site in Takoradi in 1939. In 1953, the name was changed to Government Secondary Technical School, and in 1970, it was given its current name. Former students of the school are popularly known as Giants, and students in the school are called Tescans.
3. Sekondi College
Sekondi College is a co-ed second cycle school in Sekondi in the Western Region of Ghana. It is one of the oldest Senior High Schools in Ghana. It has notable alumni like Anthony Benin – active justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana (2012–), Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng – first black person to perform open-heart surgery, Kofi Koduah Sarpong – Ghanaian administrator and CEO of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.
4. St. Johns Senior High School, Secondi
St. John’s School is an all-boys’ second-cycle Roman Catholic school located at Sekondi in the Western Region of Ghana. It is one of the best senior high schools in Ghana and the best in the region. The present curriculum falls within the Senior High School system in Ghana, with overall oversight by the Ghana Education Service.
Old Boys of St. John’s School are affectionately called Old Saints. The Old Saints Fraternity includes some of the most notable and prominent men in the country.
Old boys include award-winning Ghanaian journalist, communications expert and social entrepreneur David Ampofo, Dr Frank Abu former minister of Mines and Energy, former Chief Executive of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Dr.Felix Anyah.
M.K Onnomah, Ghanaian Politician and first Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Ghana Martin Amidu, The late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama, Shasha Marley and a whole group of prominent and notable alumni.
5. Fijai Senior High School
Fijai Senior High School, formerly Fijai Secondary School, is a co-educational senior high school located in the Western Region of Ghana. The name Fijai is from the native dialect “Afei Gyae Me”, which literally means “Now, leave me alone”.
The school got underway in 1952 as Sekondi Day Secondary School, as part of the 1951 Accelerated Plan for Education of the then Gold Coast Government.
The school was commissioned by the Paramount Chief of Essikado, Nana Kobina Nketsiah IV on 29 January 1952 with 38 students (30 boys and eight girls). The school was conducted in the buildings of the old Sekondi hospital.
The school moved to its current site in 1955 where it assumed its name Fijai Secondary School and recently changed to Fijai Senior High School