PHOTOS: St. Peter’s Senior High School 60th Anniversary
– Photo Courtesy R. Anim
60 Years Of Pure Distinction
The idea to establish the school started in 1956 when a delegation approached Fr. Cletus Hodapp of the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) with a proposal to establish a school in Nkwatia. After a meeting between the then Nkwatiahene (Chief of Nkwatia) Nana Asante Yaidom III and his elders and Bishop Joseph Bowers of Accra, a decision was taken to start the school and the present location was given by the chiefs and people of Nkwatia.
Fr Clement Hotze was appointed as the first headmaster of the school on 10 January 1957. Classes began on 5 February 1957 at Mr Onwona Farkye’s house with 36 students and two tutors, Mr Agyare teaching the sciences and Fr Hotze teaching the arts subjects.
In 1958, the first science block was built with the people of Nkwatia contributing labor. This was followed by the SVD house, the offices and the dining hall in 1960. In September of that same year, the school received approval from the West African Examinations Council to present science candidates. The first speech and prize giving day was held in June 1961 and the first class of 15 fifth formers graduated.
In October 1964, the school enrolled 15 students to start its first form six class. November 1964 marked a turning point in the life of the school when Rev. Fr. Linzenbach, SVD architect and director of planning Steyl (Rome) arrived to stake out plans for a new dormitory block to be jointly financed by the bishops of Germany and the SVD.
In June 1965, the class of fifth formers who sat the ‘O’ Level Examinations were the first to get 100% pass in the history of the school. The first old boy of the school graduated from the then University of Science and Technology. In December 1969, the hockey team won its first Eastern Regional Championship and retained the laurel for three consecutive years.
After 10 years of WAEC approval for science candidates, the school received approval for O Level arts courses, followed by A Level business courses in 1972. Agricultural Science and German courses received approval in 1974 and triple stream ‘O’ Level was begun. Music as a subject was introduced in 1975.
The school has two dormitory blocks, namely the old and new dorms, that house six houses, named after Roman Catholic saints who were associated with Africa or Africans.
Claver House is the first house on the ground floor of the old dormitory block.It is named after Peter Claver who is the patron saint of the school. Members of the house are identified by the house color of green.
Luanga House shares the ground floor of the old dormitory block with Claver House. It is named after Charles Lwanga one of the Martyrs of Uganda. Luanga House is one of the two houses in the school named after the Ugandan martyrs. The house color is yellow.
Porres House is the first house on the first floor of the old dormitory block, named after Martin de Porres. The house has the best view overlooking the school’s football pitch and classroom blocks. The house color is blue.
Augustine House was named after St. Augustine of Hippo arguably one of the most influential Christian Scholars and philosophers the world has known. Augustine house is the second house on the first floor of the old dorm. The house colour is red.
Foucauld House is the only house on the ground floor of the new dorm. The house is named after Charles de Foucauld a French martyr who was killed in Algeria. The house colour is purple.
Kizito House is the second house to be named after another Ugandan martyr. The house is the only house on the first floor of the new dorm and the sixth house of the school.The house color is light blue.
SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS
The school has two crocodiles which are considered as important components in the school’s tapestry. The crocodiles are almost like the school’s mascots and also serve as a tourist attraction as many first time visitors to the school head toward the crocodiles’ enclosure first before going on to take care of their businesses. The crocodiles are the responsibility of the school’s wildlife club.
Sourced from Wikipedia
This year, the school celebrates its 60th anniversary. ‘Old Boys’ the world over converged to mark this milestone. Under the coordination of the President of the Old Boys’ Association, Perscoba Richard Anim (Balai), different year groups took up a range of projects and renovations some of which were out-doored.
Below are some photos from the event.
