Located in the hills of Adiembra and Bakakyir suburbs of Sekondi, in the Western Region of Ghana is St. John’s School, an all-boys senior high school founded in 1952 by the Roman Catholic Mission.
The school has sustained its prominence over the years with many illustrious sons being produced to help in Ghana’s socio-economic growth, with many playing critical roles in private and public sectors in Ghana and abroad.
The school in March celebrated its 67th Anniversary with a weeklong set of activities that were climaxed with its 14th Founders’ Day.
Among the notable events were a float within the suburbs of Sekondi-Takoradi, sporting activities, career counselling for final year students by Old Students, as well as a training workshop for tutors also sponsored by Old Students.
The Old Students, dubbed ‘OLD SAINTS’ took the opportunity to hold their Association Annual General Meeting during which critical milestones were chalked including the review of their constitution, as well as handing over of projects that included a complete rehabilitation of the football field as well as the basketball court.
Other projects included the refurbishment of the Physics laboratory by the 1979-year group, while the House ‘3’ former students also rehabilitated the dormitory toilet and bath.
The main activity was the Speech and Prize Giving Day which was attended by Minister of Aviation, Kofi Addah, and the incoming Western Regional Minister, Members of Parliament for Sekondi, Twifo Heman, and Takoradi respectively.
In the keynote address, a Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church, Very Reverend Emmanuel Aryee advised the government to convene a non-partisan national education forum to review the free Senior High School programme.
He explained that it is the only way Ghana can tackle the problems associated with the policy.
Various prizes were offered by the school and Old Saints to students that excelled in various internal and external examinations including WASSCE.
The Global Chairman of the Old Saints Association, Dr. Henry Benyah admonished staff and students to avail themselves for the investment opportunities and support that the Old Saints were offering to the school through academic and extra-curricular facilities to improve on their performance to sustain the good image of the school.
Commenting on the theme for the celebrations, Prospects of Free SHS: The Role of Stakeholders, Dr. Benyah further called on government to recognize Old Students Associations as critical partners in the running of secondary schools in the country, especially when they are in recent times providing essential support.
The headmaster of the school Mr. Anthony Joshua Mensah lauded the efforts of all stakeholders especially the old boys for their support in helping improve the infrastructure of the school.
He called on students to work hard to help fly the flag of St. John’s high.