Accra Academy is a prestigious boys’ high school at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It admits both boarding and day students. Founded as a private institution in 1931, it became a Government-Assisted School in 1950. Notably, Accra Academy is the oldest existing high school in the Gold Coast to have been established without the prior involvement of a religious society, the government, or a chiefdom.

Accra academy offers courses in business, general science, general arts, agricultural science, and visual arts, leading to the award of the West African Senior School Certificate. The school’s founders aimed to provide tuition for students seeking secondary-grade education but lacked financial support.

The first principal and co-founder, Kofi Konuah, periodically traveled to major towns across the regions of Ghana to organize entrance examinations. This initiative aimed to offer brilliant but needy students the opportunity to receive an education at Accra Academy. Although the school no longer offers special admission for such students, it now admits students through a school selection placement system, as per a 2005 directive from the Ghana Education Service.

Accra Academy has earned a reputation for academic excellence and has consistently ranked among Ghana’s top-performing senior high schools. In 2003, it was ranked 8th out of the top 100 high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac. This ranking was based on factors such as quality of education, student engagement, alumni achievements, school profile, and internet and news visibility.

The academy holds the distinction of being the first school to produce successive Chief Justices of Ghana and successive Ghanaian Speakers of Parliament. It is also the first school to produce both a head of government and a deputy head of government in the same Ghanaian administration.

The school’s academic performance has been exemplary over the years. In 2009, Accra Academy was listed among six other schools in the Greater Accra Region where 60% or more of its candidates qualified for tertiary education. A survey revealed that the academy contributed 50% or more of its students to universities.

In 2012, a former student was adjudged by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) as the best candidate in Business at the previous year’s WASSCE. In 2017, another former student was named the second-overall best candidate and the second-best candidate in General Science for the previous year’s WASSCE in Ghana.

The academy’s performance in recent years has remained impressive. In 2018, 676 students sat for the WASSCE, with 640 students passing all eight courses taken, representing a 94.7% pass rate. In 2020, 672 students took the examination, with 633 students passing six courses, including four core courses and two elective courses, achieving a 94.2% pass rate.

Accra Academy has eight halls of residence, named after notable alumni such as Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Peter Ala Adjetey, Nana Wereko Ampem, and Nana Awuah Darko Ampem. Students actively participate in extracurricular activities through various school associations and clubs, including the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (Youth Wing), Cadet Corps, Campus Ministry, Debaters Club, Drama Club, Geography Club, and German Club. Sports are also a key part of student life, with training in athletics, soccer, and hockey. The academy’s sporting achievements include winning the Aggrey Shield, along with seven other trophies, in the annual inter-college athletics competition held in 1950. This victory cemented the academy’s reputation in Ghanaian inter-college sports and popularized the slogan “Accra Aca, Bleoo.”

The school has produced many notable alumni who have made significant contributions to Ghana’s political and social landscape. Among its distinguished graduates are a member of the Big Six, a head of state, and a deputy head of state. The school also boasts three Speakers of Parliament and two Chief Justices of Ghana among its alumni, making Accra Academy the only school whose graduates have led all three arms of government: the executive, legislature, and judiciary.

Additionally, alumni have led all three service branches of the Ghana Armed Forces — the army, navy, and air force — and the former fourth service branch, the border guards, during its brief existence. Furthermore, the national assemblies that deliberated over and presented the draft constitutions of Ghana’s Third Republic and the Fourth Republic were both chaired by alumni of Accra Academy.

Accra Academy’s rich history, academic excellence, and contributions to national development have firmly established its legacy as one of Ghana’s premier educational institutions.

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