Top 10 Oldest Senior High Schools in the Ashanti Region and their Rich Histories

The school was established in July 1937 as the first secondary school on Asante land by the late J.T. Robert who was a Sierra Leonean. At the time, it was christened Asante Collegiate and was sited at Asafo, a suburb of Kumasi.

It started as a private educational institution with just a handful of all-boys students. The school was later renamed as Osei Kyeretwie SHS (after Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Agyeman Prempeh II) who was known in private life as Barima Osei Kyeretwie.

Shortly after the renaming ceremony, the school was relocated to a new site at Dichemso formerly occupied by Modern City Academy. Afterwards, the school population increased significantly.

As a result, Asantehene Osei Agyemang Prempeh II, by his kindness acquired a new site at Old Tafo, Kumasi. Nine years afterwards, the school started operating the two sites concurrently which was a very daunting task. The school eventually moved permanently to their new site at Old Tafo in 2004/05 academic year. The Dichemso campus is where Serwaa Nyarko Girls’ SHS is currently occupying.

Products of the school are affectionately called ‘’AHENEMMA’’…Princes and Princesses. The philosophy or motto of the school is ‘’service to God and humanity”. OKESS is located in Tafo, a suburb of Kumasi.

The Vacus land was established in 1940 by the Methodist church to fill a vacuum left by the establishment of Mmofraturo Girls Boarding School. The Church needed a middle boarding school for only boys.

The school started as a Middle Boys Boarding School at a bungalow at the Freeman College, opposite the Wesley College in Kumasi. Within a few years, the enrollment shot up, and as a result, the church began to look for a permanent site for the school. The leadership of the church went to Manhyia to find a parcel of land for the construction of the school.

Fortunately, the Akroponghene at that time, Nana Kwabina Sarfo II, had earlier on informed Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II, about his disappointment over a land he had offered to a group of people to build a school, which they had refused to take, Otumfuo then directed that the said land in Akropong should be given to the church to build the school.

The Asantehene further directed that the school should be named after Otumfuo Osei Tutu I, the founder of Asante Kingdom. In recognition of the effort by Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II and Nana Kwabina Sarfo II, Akroponghene, the two premier houses in the school were named after them.

‘MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST’ is the schools motto. The Old Boys are referred to as ABREMPONG. With Afia Kobi Girls’ SHS as their affiliate girl school.

Popularly referred as MPANIMFOƆ, the school was founded by Mr. E.R Addow as Modern School of Commerce (MODESCO) in Akwamu, a suburb of Effiduase in 1943. The school was purely commercial and the subjects taught were Typing, Shorthand and Office practice.

In 1963, the school was absorbed into the public system. After the absorption the following subjects were introduced, Mathematics, English Language, Science, Geography, and Accounting etc. The schools name changed from Modern School of Commerce (MODESCO) to Effiduase Secondary Commercial School (EFFISCO).

The school was moved to its present site, which was given by Akrobeto and Kyidom families and was endorsed by the Effiduase Divisional Council. Old students of the school are called ‘MPANIMFOƆ’ meaning ‘ELDERS or SENIORS’. Their motto is ‘STRENUE’ which is a Latin word meaning ‘Actively’. It is known to be the oldest commercial/business school in the Asante Kingdom.

The school was founded in 1949 by the Asanteman Council, the British Colonial Government, the Methodist Church Ghana and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Making it the first school in Ghana to be managed by both Presby and Methodist churches. The school is named after Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II, who donated the land on which the school was built, the college was built to model the Eton College in England.

Prempeh College was the first school to win the National Science and Maths Quiz in 1994 and 1996 and the school with the second highest NSMQ trophies also having the highest number of International Robotic championship trophies than any school in Ghana. Old Boys of the College are called “AMANFOƆ”, with Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ SHS as their affiliate girls school, together they are called AMANADEHYEƐ.

The college is located at Sofoline, a suburb of Kumasi. Their motto is ‘SUBAN NE NIMDEƐ’ translated as ‘Character and Integrity’.

The first Muslim Secondary school in Ghana was established by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana on 30th January, 1950. The first Headmaster of the School was Dr. S. B. Ahmad, an expatriate, who started the school with twenty-five students and seven teachers. T.I in the school’s name stands for Talimul Islam, hence the full name of the school is ‘Talimul Islam Ahmadiyya Senior High School’. “Talimul Islam” is an Arabic phrase which means The Teachings of Islam.

There are about 5 TI Ahmadiyya SHS’ on Asanteland in order to distinguish themselves from each other TI Amass in Kumasi is famously known as ‘Real AMASS’ or AMASS Phobia. The school has the highest trophies in the Ashanti Regional Super Zonal championship. Real AMASS is located at Asafo opposite the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.

Opoku Ware School was established in 1952 by the Catholic Missionary. The school was named after Asante King Otumfuo Opoku Ware I who was known for his strong leadership, military prowess, and support for education and it is the first and probably, the only Catholic School in Ghana to be named after a King, Asantehene Opoku Ware I for his love for education.

The alumni are known collectively as Akatakyie, an Asante word meaning “conquering heroes”. The patron saint of the school is Saint Thomas Aquinas. The motto of the school is “Deus Lux Scientiae”, meaning “God is the Light of Knowledge”.

Opoku Ware School has a unique identity. Every student, upon entering the school, is given an identifying code composed of letters (determined by the student’s year of entrance to the school) and a number. On campus, most students are known by their numbers rather than their real names. Eg; a student admitted in 2005 and registered as the 431st student is given the number BJ 431. A student admitted in the subsequent year and registered first is give the number BK 1.

Opoku Ware School is affiliated with St. Louis SHS. The two schools come together to form AKATASLOPSA. The school is located at Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi. OWASS is undoubtedly, the Ashanti Regional Best WASCCE school with two NSMQ trophies.

In 1952, the Catholic Church established a Boys school in Kumasi. This was Opoku Ware School. But in line with the perennial policy of the Catholic Church to give equal educational opportunities to boys and girls, the Catholic Church decided to open a girls’ secondary school the same year in Kumasi.

In 1947, the first St. Louis Sisters arrived in the country. They were to continue the running of an already-established elementary school, the St. Bernadette School, now popularly called ‘Roman Girls’ in Mbrom. True to character, the St. Louis Sisters, who never do things by the halves, decided to establish a new secondary school on the same compound.

In 1952, St. Louis Secondary was opened, with an initial group of 12 girls. Making it the first girls’ School in Ghana, founded by the sisters of St. Louis. The school’s motto was originally the French phrase Dieu Le Veut (God willing). In the 1960s, the Latin phrase Ut Sint Unum was added to distinguish the school from the convents. Together, the motto translates to “God wishes that all may be one”. In 2008, St. Louis SHS was adjudged the overall National and International Best WASCCE School and the 2 West African Best WASSCE candidates emerged from the same school.

The school maintains their alliance with the Opoku Ware School, popularly called AkataSlopsa. It is located at Oduom, a suburb of Kumasi. They are currently the Ashanti Regional Super Zonals champions having won their previous year.

Konongo Odumasi Senior High was officially opened on 23rd February, 1953 as the first second-cycle institution in Asante Akyem area with 21 boys and 5 girls. The twin communities, Konongo and Odumasi were beneficiaries of the 1951 Gold Coast Government plan towards the education in the country called: “Accelerated Development Plan for Education”.

When the idea of starting a secondary school for the people in Asante Akyem area started, the two towns – Konongo and Odumasi engaged in a fierce struggle to ensure that each had the advantage of hosting the school.

The leaders later on found a sense in the saying that: “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. The differences between the two-sister towns were therefore calmly settled to enable the temporary structure called “Biafra” used to start the school. The original school site was nicknamed Biafra, after the secessionist state of Biafra associated with the Nigerian Civil War.

The unity that birthed the school name, ‘KONONGO-ODUMASE SECONDARY SCHOOL (KOSS), is evidenced in the school’s is appellation, ‘ANUANOM’ with the response ‘BAANU YƐ’. Konongo Odumase SHS is the first and only school in Ghana to win the National Independence Day Debate competition and defended its title the following year.

Bekwai SDA, situated between Bekwai and Asanso on the Anwiankwanta-Cape Coast road was established in 1953 by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Originally, Bekwai SDA Senior High School began as both a teacher training college and a secondary school.

However, in 1974, the Teacher Training College was phased out, leaving the secondary school as the primary focus of the institution. Bekwai SDA SHS is the first Secondary school established by the Adventist Church in Ghana.

The school’s motto, “LUMEN TUMM FULGEAT,” meaning ‘Let Your Light Shine,’ aptly reflects its ethos and commitment to enlightening and empowering its students. The students of the school are referred as ‘PIESIE’ meaning the ‘First Born’ or the Eldest.

Collins Senior High School, formerly Collins Secondary Commercial School was founded by Mr. Victor Collins Asabere on 24th January 1954 with 18 boys and girls. The school was originally sited at Obuasi, a suburb of Agogo. It was absorbed into the public Education system in 1967 through government directives in 1965; still under the leadership of the founder, Mr. Victor Collins Asabere.

As a result of government takeover, the population of the school increased and this called for expansion in infrastructure. The late Agogohene Nana Kwaku Duah I, in consultation with the principal elders of the town threw in the assistance by offering a 65-acre land on the Konongo-Agogo road for a permanent site for the school. The motto of the school in Latin I s “FULGI ID ANGULUS” translated into English as “BRIGHTERN THE CORNER WHERE YOU ARE”.

The school which is regarded as the official school of the Asante Empire, founded as a co-educational day school in 1954 by the Asante Youth Association (AYA) in response to the growing demands for more second-cycle educational institutions in Asante Kingdom.

The idea was birthed when in the early part of the 1950’s due to the limited number of Secondary Schools in the Asanteland, boys and girls who wanted secondary education had to travel to the coastal regions of the country.

The school was initially called Asante Youth Association Day Secondary School in 1954. The school remained under the aegis of AYA until 1962 when it was absorbed into the public system by the government and from then on it grew from an initial one stream to three streams in the 1980s.

Both old and current students are known as “Nananom” an Asante word meaning “Kings and Queens”. The motto of the school is located at Bantama in Kumasi.

The Baptist missionaries were known for their strict discipline. The Baptist church eventually handed the school over to the government on the condition that the name be changed and that the Baptist Mission retain the right to teach religion. As a result the name was changed from Sadler Baptist Secondary School to Kumasi Academy.

The Motto of the School is “Vouloir, c’est pouvoir” a a French idiom that means “to want is to be able to” whiles the Old Students of the school are called “AKUNINI”. Kumasi Academy was the first school to win the National STEMNOVATION Challenge in 2022.

In summary, the top 10 oldest schools in the Ashanti Region are;

1. Osei Kyeretwie SHS (OKESS)

2. Osei Tutu Boys’ Schoo (OT).

3. Effiduase Sec. Com School (EFFISCO)

4. St. Monica’s SHS (MUNCHE)

5. Prempeh College (PC)

6. TI Ahmadiyya SHS (Real AMASS)

7A. Opoku Ware School (OWASS)

7B. St. Louis SHS (SLOPSA)

8A. Konongo Odumase SHS (Great KOSS)

8B. Bekwai SDA SHS (SDASS)

9A. Collins SHS, Agogo.

9B. Asanteman SHS (ASASS)

10. Kumasi Academy (KUMACA).