Holy Child Senior High School, Central Region

October 6, 2023 MarvyWeb Admin

Holy Child School, also known as Angel’s Hill, is an all-girls boarding second-cycle institution in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. In 2003, the school was ranked among the best 10 schools in Africa, producing the best overall female student in the 2003 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSSCE) Holy Child School also produced the best and second-best overall students for the 2017 West African Senior School Examination, WASSCE.

The school was founded by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) in 1946 to provide education to Catholics within the region. The current student population stands at over 1000 girls aged between 14 and 18 years. All students of Holy Child School are boarders. The School has always prided itself in providing holistic education for females so that they may strive to achieve higher heights and become “Women of Substance”. The school motto is, in Latin: Facta Non Verba, translated to mean “Actions Not Words”. The present headmistress of the school is Linda Appiah. The school’s colors are yellow and brown.

History

After the Methodist-run Mfantsipim School and the Anglican-run Adisadel College opened in 1876 and 1910, respectively, the Catholic community in Ghana was eager for a Roman Catholic-based school to open in the country.

The first stone of St. Augustine’s College was formally laid by the Governor at the time, Sir Arnold W. Hodson, on January 15, 1935. Bishop Porter blessed the event and led the service. Then His Lordship turned his attention to the teaching of women.

“Every Catholic should go to a Catholic school or college as much as possible,” said Bishop Porter. The reason is very clear. The average Catholic person learns their faith through action, not from reading about it. For a Catholic boy or girl, this means that they need to be Catholic in school and college. They must be fully Catholic in everything they do, from the things they say at the table and during leisure time to the games they play, the work they do, and the way they live out their beliefs. There is a Catholic atmosphere at the Catholic Schools and College. Is there a place where you can find that air somewhere else?”

Because of this, there was an urgent need to reorganize established institutions and build new schools to meet the growing demand for more educational opportunities for girls.

There was a need for a lot of female teachers in schools. There were not enough teachers. Bishop Porter of the Gold Coast Colony Vicariate asked Rev. Mother General in 1934 to open a secondary school for girls in his Vicariate. However, the idea wasn’t really talked about or accepted until World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945. On August 12, 1945, the Honourable T. R. O. Mangin, who was the Chief Commissioner of the Colony, blessed and put the foundation stone of Holy Child, which was both a Catholic Teacher-Training College and a Secondary School for girls. The Commissioner was thrilled that one of the plans for after the war was to give girls the chance to go to school.

It was Rev. Mother Mary Joachim, Mother Mary Cyril (helper), and Mother Mary St. Edward who were the first group of three nuns to arrive at Takoradi on February 20, 1946. To their great joy and surprise, Rev. Mother General and Rev. Mother Provincial met them at the wharf. The first person to greet them was Rev. Father Fisher, who was Bishop Porter’s Vicar Delegate and would become a loyal friend and helpful counselor in the early days of the college. The middle school building, the convent, three dorm blocks, two dining rooms, a water tower and two bungalows were all finished by March 5, 1946. That same day, 120 students were accepted into the college.

His Majesty William Porter kept telling parents that Holy Child College was a great place for their girls to go. Because of this, by 1955 there were twice as many students, and the Training College Department had to be moved to Takoradi. There are now 700 students at Holy Child School and 400 at Holy Child College. The school began with 50 kids.

The school had both intellectual and practical classes. Students in the sixth form took their classes at St. Augustine’s College before 1955, until the school hired teachers to teach sixth-form classes. Follow the school’s motto, “Facta Non-Verba” (Actions Not Words), and Holy Child College and School will continue to turn out highly qualified professional women who have served their country with great joy and efficiency. There are two things that make the society’s school system stand out. For starters, the kids were given some freedom and trust, which wasn’t every day back then. One of the nuns wrote, “In this kind of training, the law of conscience takes precedence, and a strong moral foundation is formed that is not likely to be thrown away along with the school uniform.”

Houses

The school currently has nine houses of residence


No.	House
1.	St. Ann’s
2.	Our Lady’s
3.	St. Cornelia’s
4.	St Joseph’s
5.	St. Agnes’
6.	St. Theresa’s(T House)
7.	St. Catherine’s (Conti)
8.	St. Maria’s
9.	Archbishop Amissah’s
10.	New House

Headmistresses


Ordinal	Headmistress	Term start	Term-end	Time in office
1	Rev. Mother Mary Joachim	1946	1955	8–9 years
2	Rev. Mother Mary Cyril	1955	1961	5–6 years
3	Rev. Mother Mary Marcela	1961	1967	5–6 years
4	Rev. Sister Mary	1967	1976	8–9 years
5	Mrs Rosemary Ampomah	1976	1978	1–2 years
6	Rev. Sister Michelle Puma	1978	1980	1–2 years
7	Mrs Alice Marie Agyeman	1980	2003	22–23 years
8	Mrs Veronica Amponsa Minta Nyarku (aka Madame Brobbey)	2003	2010	6–7 years
9	Rev. Sister Josephine Anto	2010	2019	8–9 years
10	Mrs Anastasia Thomford-Okyere	2019	2021	1–2 years
11	Mrs Linda Appiah	2021	incumbent	1–2 years