Aquinas is 50 years old

Today, St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School will join the elite of second cycle schools which are 50 years. Fifty years in the life of any institution cannot be a mean achievement.

Products of the school are contributing to the national development endeavour. The Golden Jubilee celebration is on the theme ?Integrity and Academic Excellence: The Way to Progress and Development?. The anniversary and speech and prize-giving day will be graced by the Minister of Education, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi and other top officials of the teaching fraternity. The Catholic Bishop of Koforidua, Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Pamler-Buckle will be the guest speaker and invitees are forwarned to hold their sides for, his sense of humour will be at its best. Highlights of the event will be the unveiling of the statue of St Thomas Aquinas and the rededication of the school to his patronage.

But the journey this far has not been without the frustrations. The Chinese, however, say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. The seed of St Thomas Aquinas was sowed in the early 1950s. Today, the school is one of the first class second cycle institutions in the country. It is generally held that life begins at 40. But at 50, Aquinas has come of age to be able to decide for itself what to do to be independent and self-reliant if it were a human being.

The prospectus of the school says that the original aim of the founding fathers of the school was ?to provide a sound secondary education together with that moral and religious training without which mere learning is of little profit?. The target group was mainly boys within Osu in Accra and its surrounding areas whose parents could not afford the luxuries of a boarding school at the time. The school still cherishes this aim and continues to cater for boys whose parents fall within the lower income group. It was the wish of the founding fathers that boys who pass through the school come out with a solid academic background and acceptable moral standards.

The academic focus is on Arts, Science, Business, Visual Arts and of late, Agricultural Science. The aim is to equip the students with the tools and skills that will help them to develop fully their individual talents and potentials to be able to take their rightful place and play a meaningful role in society.

Following the tradition of the founding fathers, a Catholic atmosphere is maintained in the school as much as possible. Religious knowledge forms part of the school curriculum and is compulsory for all students.

St Thomas Aquinas Boys Day Secondary School was founded in January 1952 by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Accra, the Rt Rev A.A. Noser in a two storey private house near the Osu Post Office area with 50 students.

The original staff consisted of the SUD Revered Father. Father Alphonse Elsbernd (headmaster), Father Wilson and Father Fisher. There were also two lay teachers, Mr Augustine Adu and Mr Paul Baddoo.

In 1954, Father Clement Hotse took over the reigns as headmaster with 130 students and eight members of staff. He worked very hard in getting assistance from the government and gaining recognition from the West African Examinations Council.

In 1977, when the school was 25 years old, the then headmaster, Rev Father J. B. McKillip, said, ?When a baby is born, it looks beautiful only to its parents. Outsiders look at the puny little creature and wonder if anything can ever come out of it.?

The school?s present site was acquired and work began there in 1961 and in September 1963, the school moved there and since then the student enrolment has more than tripled. The student population now stands at 960. The school has turned out thousands of students who are working in various capacities. It has produced 15 Catholic priests including the Bishop of Yendi and an Anglican priest.

In his speech to mark the Silver Jubilee celebration in 1977 when I was a student, Father McKillip said ?our greatest glory, was when we received a circular from the headquarters of the Ghana Education Service (GES) early in 1974. A survey was carried out of the percentage passes at the School Certificate level of all government assisted schools in Ghana for the years 1971, 1972 and 1973. Aquinas had the highest percentage of passes in the whole country.

He said ?if you have never seen a human peacock, you should have seen me that day there was not a prouder person on earth. The staff were jubilant, the students were hysterical with joy?.

Until recently, Aquinas never had a violent demonstration. But last year, this enviable record was dented by the students when they clashed with Labone students for reasons very difficult to comprehend. It is hoped moral education will be intensified so that sound academic work can be pursued without which mere learning defeats the motto of the school Veritas librat which means truth stands.

In Accra, Aquinas is acknowledged as a perfect school for the underprivileged because it is a day school where parents who cannot afford boarding fees in Accra always sent their wards. And in consonance with the objective of the founding fathers to provide education for underprivileged students, the school in 1995 instituted the Right to Education Fund to offer financial assistance to academically gifted students who lack the means to support their education and therefore distressed and frustrated. Contributors to the fund included members of the board of governors, Old Toms, parents and well-wishers.

The progress of Aquinas can be summed up in the words of the principal?s report on December 11, 1952. According to him ?the first year in the life of Aquinas College has come to an end. I must admit that the infant shows signs of maturity and gives that promise for the future. Relying on the patronage of St Thomas Aquinas, we have reasons to face the future with confidence?.