Mfantsipim School

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Mfantsipim School is a secondary school in Ghana located in Cape Coast, in the Central Region. It was established in 1876, as an all boys institution, by the Methodist Church to operate at the secondary level; and dedicated to fostering intellectual, moral and spiritual growth. Its foundation name was Wesleyan High School and the first Headmaster was James Picot, a French scholar, who was only eighteen years on his appointment.

History of The School

Wesleyan High School had a change of name to Wesleyan Collegiate School before the end of the 19th Century. The name, Mfantsipim, was provided by the Honourable John Mensah-Sarbah, an accomplished lawyer and a member of the 'PIONEER BOYS'. Mfantsipim, he insisted, was to be the "SOUL OF THE PEOPLE".

Several heads served the school with distinction. The Reverend W. T. Balmer came in 1907 and could be considered as a 'stabiliser'. He met only eight dedicated boys in Mfantsipim with neither a teacher nor a Headmaster, the then headmaster having left for the United Kingdom. He called them the 'faithful eight'. A monument has been erected between the Administration Block and the Assembly Hall to perpetuate their memory.

The Reverend R.A. Lockhart arrived in 1925 and laid a solid foundation for progress. He built claassrooms and dormitories on Kwabotwe Hill and finally brought the school to the present site in 1931. He was also the main architect in bringing the Cambridge School Leaving Certificate Examination into the Gold Coast, now Ghana. Dr. F.L. Bartels built on the foundation of the former heads. His main period as a head stretched from 1949 to 1961.

There have been many influential products of the school who have served, not only the country, the continent of Africa but also continents outside Africa and many international bodies. Mfantsipim School has trained uncounted number of men of distinction. In the field of Medicine, Engineering, Education, Architecture, etc, are found a number of prominent men who owe allegiance to Mfantsipim School.

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