Mfantsipim School Launches 150th Anniversary Awards and Fundraising Gala
Ghana’s oldest secondary school is preparing for a milestone celebration that doubles as a major fundraising effort. The Mfantsipim 150th Anniversary Planning Committee has officially launched the Mfantsipim 150th Anniversary Awards and Fundraising Dinner, a gala event scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2026, at the Palms Convention Centre of the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.
Founded in 1876 by the Wesleyan Mission, Mfantsipim holds the distinction of being the first secondary school established in what was then the Gold Coast. Over 150 years, the Cape Coast institution has produced an outsized share of Ghana’s leadership class, with alumni spanning government, business, academia, religion, and the arts.
The awards ceremony will honour distinguished alumni and institutions whose contributions have shaped the school and the broader national landscape. According to the organisers, the evening is designed to celebrate excellence, leadership, and service while channelling proceeds toward legacy projects that will sustain the school for its next century and a half.
Award categories have been structured to reflect the breadth of the Mfantsipim community: a Distinguished and Emerging Category, an Education Category, a Pan-Industry Category, and a MOBA Special Category, the last recognising the distinctive fraternity of Mfantsipim Old Boys.
“We are excited to celebrate this significant milestone and honour those who have made meaningful contributions to Mfantsipim School and the broader community,” said Professor David Ofori-Adjei, Chairman of the Mfantsipim 150 Awards Subcommittee. “This celebration is not just about the past; it’s also about looking forward and inspiring future generations to continue the legacy of excellence.”
The awards subcommittee itself reads like a roll call of the school’s cross-generational reach. Members include alumni from the 1960s through the 1980s, alongside representatives from the Methodist Church Ghana, the Adisadel Old Boys Association, the Wesley Girls’ High School Old Girls’ Association, and the school’s current administration. The breadth of representation signals an effort to position the anniversary not merely as an alumni affair but as a celebration of Ghana’s broader educational heritage.
Mfantsipim’s sesquicentennial arrives at a moment when Ghana’s secondary education sector is undergoing significant transformation. The government is phasing out the shift system in public schools, as Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu recently told Parliament, a move that could reshape the daily experience of hundreds of thousands of students. Against that backdrop, Mfantsipim’s anniversary offers both a reminder of what a well-resourced institution can achieve and a prompt for reflection on how to extend similar quality more broadly.
The gala is expected to draw distinguished personalities, educators, corporate leaders, development partners, and members of the wider Mfantsipim fraternity. Special guests will share personal stories illustrating the school’s impact on their lives and careers.
For a school that has spent a century and a half shaping Ghana’s leadership class, the October event represents both a celebration and a reinvestment in the future.
Image Source: MYJOYONLINE
