Namilyango College is a boys-only boarding middle and high school located in Mukono District in the Central Region of Uganda, whose history and excellence in sports and academics have made it one of the most prestigious schools in Uganda. It is Uganda's oldest secondary school, founded in 1902 by the CatholicMill Hill Fathers.
Location
The school campus is situated on Namilyango Hill, approximately, by road, southwest of Mukono Town, the district headquarters, and about, by road, south of the township of Seeta, the nearest trading center. The college lies approximately, by road, east of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The coordinates of Namilyango College are:0°20'19.0"N, 32°43'02.0"E.
History
The school was founded in March 1902 by the Mill Hill Fathers, a London-based Catholic missionary society, to educate the sons of Catholic chiefs. At the time, the Mill Hill Missionaries approach to education for locals was guided by their objective of training local catechists and, eventually, local priests. The first students at Namilyango were being trained to become, first and foremost, catechists; those who were considered unfit for that vocation would be sent away or, if they were of good character, educated further so they could be taken on as clerks in the colonial government.
Reputation
Namilyango College is one of the most prestigious schools in Uganda, owing to its history, influence, excellent academic performance and dominance in sports. It is the oldest secondary school in Uganda, and for long was the best school in boxing until the sport was stopped in the school in the early 1990s. Rugby is the biggest sport in the College. Namilyango has won the national schools' rugby title more than any other school, and has sent numerous players to the national team. Namilyango College was a pioneer in Information Technology in Ugandan schools, building one of the first computer labs.
Rivalries
Over the years a tradition of Namilyango College has been the rivalries with fellow prestigious schools, in Academics, Sports and socialising. The rivals have included, in decreasing order of rivalry: St. Mary's College Kisubi, King's College Budo and Busoga College Mwiri. In recent times the bad blood has been with Budo and SMACK for the Rugby honours, as Namilyango has won five schools' championships in the last eight years - including the 2012 Championship, compared to one, each, for their rivals. On the other hand, the school has maintained cordial relations with schools like: Gayaza High School, Mount Saint Mary's College Namagunga and Trinity College Nabbingo.
Houses of residence
The college has eleven residential houses and a hostel. The "O" Level students reside in the residential houses while the "A" Level students reside in Minderop Hostel, named after Father James Minderop, the first headmaster of the college. The eleven residential houses are:
Biermans House - Named after Bishop John Biermans, Vicariate Apostolic of Upper Nile 1912 - 1924
Former students of Namilyango College are called "Old Ngonians", and include a prime minister, the current Chief Justice, cabinet ministers, clergymen, members of the royal family of Buganda, judges, lawyers, academics, and sportsmen. Some of the prominent alumni of the school include:
