While many African countries are still developing, countries such as Seychelles, Tunisia and Mauritius have shown significant educational progress, with their educational system being ranked among the best in the world.
There has been a significant increase of very good secondary schools all over the continent. Government schools within the African countries started off as the best, however, in recent times, much has changed, private senior high schools outperform government schools.
Ranking high schools from different countries across the continent is always going to be difficult as different countries follow different curriculums and take part in completely different regional assessments. This ranking is based on schools that have historical prominence at a national and regional level as well as schools whose students win prestigious scholarships and fellowships at a national and international level and schools with the best facilities that aid teaching and learning.
10. Adisadel College, Ghana
Adisadel College, popularly known as “ADISCO”, is an Anglican boys’ boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. Adisadel College is one of the oldest senior high schools in Africa. Adisadel College was established in 1910 by Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn.
It was ranked 10th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based on quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility. The competitive nature os Adisadel students can be found in the school’s motto “Vel Primus, Vel Cum Primis”, a Latin phrase which means “Either the frst or with the first”.
The beautiful campus of Adisadel College has facilities that are unique among secondary schools in Africa, some of which are language laboratory, a gymnasium, lecture theatre, computer laboratory, library, sports stadium, an infirmary and a chapel. Most of the facilities at Adisadel were built by the school’s pioneering alumni who continue to support the school in various ways.
Adisadel offers rigorous academic training that prepares its students for university entry. Extra-curricular activities including track and field, hockey, soccer, basketball and table tennis, form part of its students training. There are also many clubs and organization that cater to various social and political interests. There are various musical groups that comprise of the Adisadel Jazz Band.
9. Lycee Lamine Gueye, Senegal
Lycée Lamine Guèye is a public general secondary school located in Dakar, Senegal
School Lamine Guèye of Dakar is a historic high school, located at the end of the cape near the mother. It houses old buildings well built since colonial times.it is particularly part of the high schools of reference in Dakar and Senegal generally.
Good school.
8. Accra Academy, Ghana
Accra Academy is a boarding boys’ school located at Bubuashie in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The school was established in 1931 and is regarded as one of the foremost secondary educational institutions in Africa. The first principal and co-founder, is Kofi Konuah.
Accra Academy was ranked 8th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility.
The academy maintains a high academic standard and has over the years been ranked among the best performing senior high schools in Africa, which has 60% or more of its candidates qualifying for tertiary education.
Amongst its unique achievements include; being the first senior high school in Ghana to have produced successive Chief Justices, and the only school at the moment to have produced successive Ghanaian speakers of parliament. It is also the first school to have produced a head of state and a deputy head of state in the same government in Ghana.
Academy students are involved in Extracurricular activities through their membership in school associations and clubs, some of which include: Cadet Corp, Debaters Club, Drama Club, Geography Club, Robotics Club, Rotaract Club, Science Club, Scrabble Club, etc.
7. International School of Kenya, Kenya
The International School of Kenya(ISK) is a private, non-profit coeducational day school that offers a prekindergarten to grade 12 educational program and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program to students of all nationalities. The institution was formed in 1976 by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
The school year is divided into two semesters, one lasting from early August to December and the other from January to early June. ISK believes that all students have the right to an education that enables them to learn and socialize within a community that provides opportunities to: “Inspire and nurture passion, creativity, and ambition in pursuit of a better world.” They value the inclusion of all students, including a variety of cultural, neurological, and biological differences, as an integral part of the whole school development of social well-being and understanding.
Facilities include an arts center, a 547-seat theater, an amphitheater, a clay work area, a library, media center, and design and fabrication technology labs, four computer labs and eight mobile computer laboratories, 1-to-1 devices from grades 3-8, and other iPad carts to support curriculum in different areas, a gymnasium, science laboratories, a cafeteria, a solar-heated swimming pool, five tennis courts, two large playing fields, state-of-the-art classrooms, a multi-sports court, and a health office.
6. Prince Edward School, Zimbabwe
Prince Edward School (or Prince Edward, commonly referred to as PE) is a public, boarding and day school for boys aged 13 to 19 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Prince Edward was established in 1898 and is the second oldest boys’ school in Harare and in Zimbabwe
Prince Edward School was ranked 6th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa-by-Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility. Prince Edward School was also ranked as one of the Top 10 High Schools in Zimbabwe in 2014.
Extracurricular activities also play a prominent role in their educational instruction Their old boys known as Old Hararians cricket team is based the Old Hararians Sports Club in Harare, and fields a team in the Vigne Cup, the Harare Metropolitan Cricket League, as well as the National League for club cricket. Prince Edward is a school well known for their sporting activities including rugby, basketball, soccer, cricket, tennis, swimming and so on
Science and technology play a great role in the school and the school has the facilities to hold science experiments
5. St. George’s College, Zimbabwe
St. George’s College is a Catholic High School founded in 1896, located at Harare, Zimbabwe. The mission of the school is to prepare students for tertiary education and to enable them to become men of competence, conscience and compassion, who will assume positive leadership roles in transforming societies.
The school has several facilities including The Emmet Park pavilion, the lawn tennis courts, The Abe Issa Auditorium, a Canteen, a Computer Laboratory, a Student Development Centre, and a Library. The school focuses on student’s development, personal growth, and ethical enrichment
St George’s College was ranked 5th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa-by-Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon the calibre of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility. St George’s College was also ranked as one of the Top 10 High Schools in Zimbabwe in 2014.
St George’s College is a selective school: an entrance examination must be taken to enter Form One, even by students from Hartmann House. ‘A’ grade at Ordinary (O) level are requisite to enter the Lower Sixth Form, with those already at the College not exempt from this requirement. The study of religious education is obligatory throughout the six years.
St George’s College follows the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) syllabus at IGCSE, AS, and A level.
4. Hilton College, South Africa
Hilton College, more commonly referred to as Hilton, is a South African private boarding school for boys located near the town of Hilton in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Hilton’s founders in 1872 were magistrate Gould Lucas and teacher and cleric William Newnham.
The school campus, which has been described as one of the most beautiful in the world, and is home to all school buildings including the Crookes Block (main academic building), the Centenary Centre (which incorporates the theatre), the William Campbell Building, Memorial Hall and the Chapel. Immediately beyond the campus is the school farm which includes wattle plantations and natural grazing areas and is used by boys for running and cycling. Hilton College Nature Reserve is used not only for swimming, tubing, mountain biking, fishing, bird watching and exploring but in addition, academic departments make use of the reserve as part of the curriculum (e.g., Art, Biology, Geography).
Hilton’s pupils each have access to a personal tutor and have a bespoke academic plan, semesterised curriculum that draws content and structure from the best curricular practices in South Africa and globally. It has consistently maintained its position as the most expensive school in South Africa.
There are three sports seasons at Hilton College and sport is compulsory at Hilton College. Hilton’s most popular sports are Rugby, Cricket, Water Polo and Hockey. The school offers a wide variety of sports: Athletics, Basketball, Cross country, Kayaking/Canoeing, Cricket, Golf, Hockey, Mountain biking, Rowing, Rugby, Shooting, Soccer, Squash, Swimming, Table tennis, Tennis, Water polo. Cultural activities such as, Art, Choir, Debating Society, Drama Society, Book Club, and Chess Club are among their numerous activities.
Hilton College also has a student exchange programme with Eton College, Harrow School, Wrekin College and many other colleges around the world
3. King Edward VII School South Africa
King Edward VII School (KES) is a public English medium high school for boys situated within the city of Johannesburg in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. The school was established in 1902
The school buildings of King Edward which are over a century old, retain their impressive appearance and are considered national monuments. These include the school hall, the back facade, the front facade, the lecture theatre and library wing, the memorial wing and the cenotaph in the main quad.
The school is famous for its rounded and balanced environment which combines legacy with leadership, high moral standards with high-tech facilities, all focused on an unrelenting goal for the boys they teach and mentor – Academic, Cultural and Sporting Excellence.
Sports that are offered in the school are: Athletics, Basketball, Chess, Cricket, Cross country, Golf, Hockey, Rowing, Rugby, Soccer, Squash, Swimming, Table tennis, Tennis and Water polo.
KES strives to nurture their pupils to help them develop to the best of their ability, and to guide their growing minds towards high ideals as they take charge of their own lives. Many of their old students are internationally renowned – as leaders and captains of industry, sports icons, human rights activists, academics, artists or authors.
2. Rift Valley Academy, Kenya
Rift Valley Academy (RVA) is a Christian boarding school located in Kijabe, Kenya run by the African Inland Mission(AIM) with over a 100 years of rich history. It was founded in 1906 by Charles Hurlburt.
Rift Valley Academy overlooks Kenya’s vast and sunlit Rift Valley at an elevation of more than 7,000 feet. As a result, RVA is sometimes referred to as the school in the clouds, and the campus is frequented by monkeys, baboons, and exotic birdlife. The school serves about 500 missionary children (K-12), representing 30 nationalities and 80 mission organizations and churches.
It was ranked 2nd out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa-by-Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility.
RVA is comprised of an elementary, a junior high, and a senior high school. The campus contains nineteen student dormitories, staff housing, a gymnasium, a music building, a drama hall, two sports fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, elementary recreational areas, a chapel, a cafeteria, an administrative building, and numerous facilities such as student health, counselling, and laundry, all of which support the daily and long-term needs of boarding students and staff families.
- Grey College, South Africa
Grey College is a semi-private English & Afrikaans medium school for boys situated in the suburb of Universitas in Bloemfontein in the Free State province of South Africa. The school was officially opened on 13 October 1855 and is the third-oldest school in South Africa.
Grey College was ranked 1st among high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003 and 2013, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility.
The school offers a number of scholarships such as the Badawi Legacy scholarship given in partnership with Montpellier Rugby Club to promote rugby, education and French culture.
The school has two fully equipped IT centres, a gymnasium, a library, a canteen and other facilities. Sports activities include: cricket, hockey, athletics, mountain biking, chess, soccer, wrestling, swimming, tennis, golf tennis and golf.