Prempeh College



Prempeh College is a public secondary school for boys located in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The school was founded in 1949 by the Asanteman traditional authority, the British Colonial Government, the Methodist Church Ghana and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The School is named after the King of Ashanti, Sir Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II, who donated the land on which the school was built. and was modeled on Eton College in England. The school topped matriculation at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 2004 with 441 students admitted and in 2012, with 296 students from the college admitted, and is considered to be one of the best secondary schools in Ghana. The School has won the National robotics championships a record three times between 2013 and 2016. In 2016 Prempeh College won the Toyota Innovation Award at the International Robofest World Championships held in Michigan, USA.

History

Prempeh College was founded through a collaboration between the Kumasi Traditional Council, the Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the then Gold Coast and the British Colonial Government. Until 1949, there was no government-assisted secondary school in Ashanti region and the northern sector of Ghana. Most students had to travel to the coastal areas of Ghana to attend established schools such as Achimota School, Mfantsipim school and others.
In the early 1940s, the British Colonial Government invited the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, which had already established institutions such as Wesley Girls High School and the Presbyterian Boys Secondary school in Krobo Odumase based on their experience, to help set up a school in the middle belt of Ghana to serve the northern sector of the country. Although there were some delays due to the second world war, in 1948 Prempeh College was designed by renowned British modernist Architect Maxwell Fry and his wife Jane Drew.
in 1984Compared to other works by Jane Drew in Ashanti region, Prempeh College campus was designed to incorporate modernist refinements as described by Lain Jackson and Jessica Holland in their book titled "The Architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew: Twentieth Century Pioneer Modernism and the tropics. According to the Ashanti Pioneer Newspaper, the opening ceremony of Prempeh College was held on the 5th February 1949. Major C. O.Butler, the chief commissioner of Ashanti gave the following address at the ceremony-
There is a great and growing need for training men to take up posts of responsibility not just as clerks in offices but in Agricultural Education, Mining, Forestry, Architecture,Engineering and Building in the many other technical posts on the fulling of which by Africans the future development of Ashanti and the Gold Coast as a whole largely depends … We British from overseas are here to help you ultimately to administer the country yourselves … until you yourselves can provide the agriculturalists, engineers, the technicians and the tradesmen who can develop the natural resources
of your country. In summary the college was expected to produce scientists and technocrats who could play vital roles in the economy of the Gold Coast.At the same opening ceremony, Prempeh II outlined his expectation for Prempeh College: ‘the hope that the students of the College would shine not only in the intellectual field but also in the moral firmament'. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei-Agyemang Prempeh II, took personal interest in the establishment of the school and donated the land for the development of the college. Due to this royal connection the colours of the Ashanti national flag green and yellow were adopted as the school's official colours. The Ashanti golden stool was added to the school's crest. The Golden Stool represents the Ashanti symbol of unity which is believed to possess the sunsum of the Ashanti people. To this day, a replica of the stool is carried out by the college's prefects during official functions and during academic processions to symbolise the role and influence of the Asantehene in the affairs of the college.
Today Prempeh College is the academic home of more than 2,000 young men, of whom the majority reside in the school's 9 boarding houses. The college has a parent body and a vibrant Old Boy's Association.
The school is headed by a chairman and board of governors, who appoint the headmaster. Prempeh College has nine boys' houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected from the more senior members of the teaching staff.
As of 2012, the headmaster was E. K. Yeboah, a member of CHASS. Prempeh has grown over time. In 1949, there were 50 boys. In the late 1990s there were about 800, later increasing to over 1,600. Currently, since the inception of the free SHS, the population is around 3000.

Uniform

The school uniform includes a green shirt with the college crest. Students wear this to class on a daily basis. For ceremonial purposes students wear a green jacket with an embroidery of the college crest. The college blazer was in use from the beginning in 1949, was dropped in the 1980s, then revived in 2003. Students wear the college suit for ceremonial purposes, such as speech days and graduation ceremonies. Students also wear the college wear for ceremonial purposes. All students wear white shirt for evening studies and white shirt with white trousers for Saturday afternoon inspection and also outdoor activities. There are some variations in the school dress worn by boys in authority. The academic staff wear black gowns with kente at the beginning of each terms academic procession and at the speech and at graduation ceremonies.

School magazine

The magazine of Prempeh College has long been called The Stool. It is a 100-page document which gives annual reports of the school. With a patron, an editorial board and the SRC, they deliver to the student body the all-formidable magazine. What has always been featured, for example, are perceptions about the school outside, short messages from students of the college to other schools, interviews with alumni and many interesting features.

Achievements

Prempeh College was the first school to win the National Science and Maths Quiz in 1994 and 1996. The College also won the 2015 and 2017 editions of the Ghana National Science and Maths Quiz that makes them one of the most successful schools in the National Science and Maths Quiz competitions. Prempeh College has also won the Ghana National Debate championship competition a record two times in 1997 and in 2004. Prempeh College is the first Secondary institution in Ghana and Africa to win the world Robofest 2016 or World Robotics competition, beating giants from China, Japan and other industrialised countries. They won the Toyota Innovation Award that year and are the only school from Africa to win it. Prempeh College Robotics Club has also won a number of other robotics awards over the years, some of their achievements include: 2016 Ashanti Regional Robotics Champions, Robofest Toyota Innovation Award Champions 2016, Robofest National Champions 2016, National Robotics 2015, National Robotics Champions 2014, Regional Robotics Champions 2013, winners of the Regional Robotics Competition 2012, Achievement in Best Programming at the Robotics Inspired Science Education Competition 2011, The 2016 National Robofest Qualifiers, Presec-Legon, Ghana Champions. The school represented Ghana at the World robotics olympiad in New Delhi India

Notable alumni