Names of houses in secondary schools
When I tuned into the FM station that morning, the topic under discussion was “Names of Houses in secondary schools in Ghana.”
As a contributor humorously stated, “as for me, I went to a day-school where the whole school was one building, so we did not have houses.”
That narrowed the discussion to boarding schools.
Interestingly, while many schools discussed named houses after personalities/saints for Catholic Schools, others named them numerically as in House 1, House 2, House 3, House 4 etc.
A few named them after colours as in Red, Gold, Green, Blue Houses.
Incidentally, the school being discussed by Bernard Avle, Samuel Atta-Mensah (“Samens”) and others on the Citi FM programme when I tuned in was Mfantsipim, my alma mater.
Realising the difficulty they were having with names of houses at Mfantsipim, I sent “Samens” a message by Whatsapp, to help them out!
Mfantsipim/Prempeh
Established by the Methodist Church in 1876 as a boys’ school, Mfantsipim is the oldest secondary/second-cycle school in Ghana.
At the time I entered Mfantsipim School in 1965, there were five houses.
They were Balmer-Acquaah, Freeman-Aggrey, Lockhart-Schweitzer, Pickard-Parker and Sarbah-Picot (with Picot pronounced “Piko”)
Subsequently, Bartels-Sneath House came into being, followed by Abruquah-Monney House with the most recent and newest Brandful-Dontwi House. So currently, Mfantsipim School has eight houses, virtually all named after past headmasters.
History has it that, in the mid-1940s, Asantehene Otumfuo Prempeh II visited Cape Coast.
Impressed with Mfantsipim School, he directed on his return to Kumasi, the building of an “Mfantsipim” for Ashanti. In pursuance of his vision, in April 1949, a group of 149 teachers and students from Mfantsipim School led by a teacher, Rev Pearson, arrived in Kumasi to start Otumfuo’s new school named PREMPEH COLLEGE.
President Kufuor
Indeed, for President Kufuor’s first commissioning of cadets as Ghana’s Head of State/Reviewing Officer in August 2001, after the Graduation Parade, I welcomed him to the Officer Cadets Mess as Colonel Dan Frimpong, the Commanding Officer of the Ghana Military for Phase two of the ceremony. His ADC, then Lt Col Adjei (now Brig Gen Rtd), added, “Excellency, Dan is my mate!” Acknowledging in Twi, he asked, “Commander, wo ne Kofi ye mates?” to which I replied affirmatively.
Not wanting to be left out, the Director of State Protocol then, Ambassador Adolphus Kinsley Arthur of blessed memory, also quickly interjected to the President, “Excellency, Dan is my classmate from Mfantsipim!”
With that, the President stopped, asking again in Twi, “Commander, wo koo Mfantsipim,” to wit, rhetorically, “commander, did you attend Mfantspim?”
When I confirmed that, he stopped and chattily started a conversation with “Ei! Mfantsipim dee, mpaninfuo wo mo mu o,” literally in Twi, “Mfantsipim is a big boy!” He then told me the story of how Mfantsipim started off Prempeh College.
He added that, but for Otumfuo’s directive that all pupils who had qualified for the other big schools during the period, go to Prempeh College, he would have attended Mfantsipim.
As he chatted in a relaxed manner with me, his security detail was visibly uncomfortable/jittery, as the President was not supposed to stop there.
Prempeh College’s nine houses are Ramseyer, Freeman, Butler, Pearson, Aggrey, Guggisburg, Osei Tutu, Serwah and Opoku Ware.
Established as a girls secondary school in 1884 after the boys-only Mfantsipim in 1876 by the Methodist Church, Wesley Girls High School traces its beginnings to 1836, when it started as a first-cycle (elementary) school.
Houses include Wrigley, Garnette, Compton, Acheampong and Djokoto.
Others
Adisadel College, an Anglican Boys School, established in 1910 earlier called St Nicholas Grammer School, has 10 houses including Knight, Le Maire, Ebiradze, Hamlyn, Aglionby, Quaque, Jonah and Jubilee.
Also Anglican and founded in 1927 is Achimota School, a co-educational School. Houses in Achimota include Gyamfi, Luggard, Livingstone, Kwapong, Fraser, Susanna Ofori-Attah, Stopford, Cadbury, and Aryee. There are also Aglionby and Slessor House for girls.
In 1946, Anglican Bishop John Aglionby founded St Monica’s Girls Secondary School in Mampong-Ashanti. The six houses include Aglionby, Paraclete, Roseveare and Bishop Yeboah
In Cape Coast, Catholic Schools like St Augustine’s College (Boys) established in 1930, and Holy Child School (Girls) established in 1946, all have their Houses named after Saints.
Discussion
While no single criterion was identified in the naming of houses generally, houses tend to be named after personalities who have made significant contributions to the schools.
Interestingly, Mfantsipim School is the only school with a “double-barrelled” name of two former headmasters for each of the eight houses, eg Balmer-Acquaah, Sarbah–Picot, Freeman-Aggrey etc.
Catholic Schools generally named houses after saints.
Names like Aggrey, Aglionby, Fraser appear to cut across in many schools. English Anglican Bishop John Aglionby served in Ghana from 1924-1951.
Not surprisingly, all Anglican schools have houses named after him. In 1997, Sir Sam Jonah built a dormitory for his alma mater Adisadel College.
This was named after him.
The question the discussants asked about Mfantsipim School was that, how come former Prime Minister Dr Busia and HE Mr Kofi Annan, the first black African UN Secretary-General, have not had houses named after them?
They also thought that, in the 21st century, it is anachronistic to have houses named numerically like House 1,2, 3 etc, or named after colours like Red, Blue etc. Every school must have personalities associated with them historically either directly or indirectly they can name houses after.
It was also opined that, the boarding school system bonded Ghanaians together, as students from different backgrounds grew up together as patriotic Ghanaians.
Rather than abolish it for reasons known by its advocates, its drawbacks should rather be corrected, and boarding schools system retained for the good of Ghana.
Boarding schools, with the important tradition of names of houses is a veritable source of history to students.
Leadership, lead by Example/Integrity! Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP!
The wriyer is a former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association
Nairobi, Kenya, and Council Chairman, Family Health University, Accra
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