22/04/2024
The 1st Elementary School In Ghana 🇬🇭
PHILIP QUAQUE SCHOOL!!!
Nearly 10 generations of Ghanaians and counting have been taught within the walls of this school. It has been there for over 250 years.
The Philip Quaque Boys School in Cape Coast carries the history of the nation’s education on its pillars.
Being the first in everything comes with some form of esteem. For instance, Mfantsipim School prides itself on the fact that it is the first secondary school to be established in the country. All first schools are known and acknowledged as such by all due to their history.
The Philip Quaque Boys School in Cape Coast beats them all in age. It is the first formal school in Ghana. It is not surprising that Cape Coast is popularly called the educational capital of Ghana.
The school has produced renowned men, including former Speaker of Parliament, Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes, former Chief of Staff under ex-President Jerry John Rawlings’ administration, Dr Sam Jonah, Nana Prah Agyensaim, Nana Ato Dadzie, and Oguaa Omanhen, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II. They all had their basic school education in this historic edifice.
People who have passed through the annals of the school cannot be counted. The school has its motto in Fanti, “Nyansa ahyese nye nyamesuro,” meaning the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Some few metres away from the Cape Coast Castle stands the ancient educational facility. The Philip Quaque Boys School has a student population of over 450 and a teaching staff of almost 30.
Philip Quaque, the first black Anglican priest, started the school at the Cape Coast Castle in the Central Region to inculcate in chidren Christian doctrines he had received after he returned from overseas.
At its embryonic stage, it was known as the Government Boys’ School until it was relocated to its present site and named after the founder in recognition of his work. It has been over 250 years since it was renamed in 1765.
According to school authorities, the present school campus was initially used as a military barracks by the British soldiers (West African Frontier) after World War II before it was moved to Takoradi. It was used during the Sir Garnett Wolseley's 1873 to 1874 war aka Sagrenti war.
Due to the purpose for its construction, its architectural design was not meant for schooling. Had it not been for the closure of some of its doors, one could see the end of the building from one end through the corridor.
The building is situated just a stone’s throw away from the Gulf of Guinea but the voice of the sea is hushed by the school’s ancient fence wall. The atmosphere was conducive for learning.
I rep Cape Coast ♥️
