Ridge Church School


The Ridge Church School is a co-educational preparatory day school located in Accra, Ghana. Situated between the Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue and Guinea Bissau Road and opposite the Efua Sutherland Children's Park, it was founded by the Accra Ridge Church in 1957, the year of Ghana's independence from the United Kingdom. The Ridge Church School is located on the premises of the church. It was the first wholly private basic school to be established in modern Ghana. The Accra Ridge Church was the first international solely English-language Protestant church in Ghana. The school is inter-denominational Christian, holding ties to the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, that assign chaplains to both the church and school. The school runs a ten–year programme from kindergarten to lower primary through upper primary to junior high and culminating in the Basic Education Certificate Examination administered by the West African Examinations Council. The school largely follows the prescribed curriculum and syllabus of the Ghana Education Service.

History

On 23 January 1955, the congregants at the Annual General Meeting of the Accra Ridge Church voted to accept the decision to establish a school. The church amended its constitution to enable the incorporation of the school in order to give the legal oversight of the school to the Church Council. Direct management of the school is undertaken by a nine-member Board of Governors which reports to the Church Council as the ultimate approving authority.
The Accra Ridge Church raised funds and the official opening of the school took place on 7 January 1957 as inter-denomination school for children of Christian expatriate church members living in Ghana. The headmistress was Mrs. Ellen Stronge. At the school's opening, there were thirty-three pupils in the first and second grades in two streams. The first two classes were housed in a single block of two classrooms and washrooms. In the early days, there were pupils from nearly 40 countries. After the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, many expatriates left the country and indirectly affected the school's international make-up.
In addition, other international schools such as the Lincoln Community School, the Swiss School and Ghana International School were established. In 1978, a third stream was added to each class. The junior secondary curriculum was introduced in 1987 while the upper primary school started subject level teaching in September 2003.

School mission

The overarching mission of the school includes development; systematic and consistent learning; imparting honesty and courtesy; loyalty, harmony, love and compassion; dedication, discipline and moral uprightness.

Facilities and infrastructure

Apart from thirty-two classrooms, the school has a multi-purpose block that houses a library, an assembly hall, a computer laboratory, washrooms and a storeroom. Other blocks have a kindergarten and a playroom, staff rooms, a school cafeteria and a canopy walkway connecting the lower secondary school to the kindergarten and primary departments. The school also owns a home economics or catering centre, an administration block, a science laboratory, an infirmary and a pre-technical skills workshop for wood and metalwork. There is also a basketball court and an AstroTurf football field on the campus.

Learning environment

Curriculum

The school population is 987 pupils comprising 466 boys and 521 girls. The academic year runs on a three term calendar: Advent, Lent and Trinity terms. In 2011, the school introduced a one–year kindergarten programme for 5-year olds. The 10-year curriculum is therefore made up of a one-year kindergarten course, 6-year primary school and three years of Junior High School. The headmistress is assisted by three assistant heads for each department: kindergarten and lower primary; upper primary and the junior high departments. The three-year Junior High School curriculum according to the Ghana Education Service syllabus prepares students for the Basic Education Certificate Examination conducted by the West African Examinations Council. All pupils are trained in the Marion Richardson handwriting system. School subjects taught include languages including English, French, Ghanaian languages such as Ga and Twi, mathematics, music, natural sciences, social studies, religious and moral education, basic design and technology, home economics, information and communications technology and physical education. In the 1970s, all Common Entrance Examination candidates from the school were admitted to their first choice secondary school as a result of its selectivity and rigorous curriculum. The school has consistently obtained a 100% pass rate in the Common Entrance Examination and later the Basic Education Certificate Examination, making it one of the best basic schools in the country.
The Ridge Church School is a feeder for highly selective public secondary schools in the country such as Aburi Girls' Senior High School, Accra Academy, Achimota School, Adisadel College, Archbishop Porter Girls Secondary School, Ghana Senior High Technical School, Holy Child School, Mawuli School, Mfantsipim School, Opoku Ware Senior High School, Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary, Prempeh College, Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, St. Augustine's College, St. Louis Senior High School, St. Peter's Boys Senior High School, St. Roses Senior High School, St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School, Wesley Girls' High School among several others. Other alumni have gone on to top private high schools such as the Akosombo International School, Ghana International School, Lincoln Community School and the SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College. Pupils are required to take part in extra-curricular club activities every Thursday. Options include Girl and Ananse Guide, Red Cross, Good News Club, Reading Club, Sports Club, Cadet Corps, Ballet, Boys’ Scout, Science Club, Cultural Drumming and Dancing Club, Music and Drama Club.

Staff

The school has 56 teachers who are diploma and first degree holders: 4 for kindergarten; 29 for primary school and 23 for the JHS department. Lower-primary teaching is done at the class level. Upper primary and junior high students are taught at the subject level. The non-teaching staff is made up of an administrative officer, an accountant, a librarian, a caretaker, a cashier, a storekeeper, a driver, six campus security men and nine other ancillary staff.

School heads

The following individuals have served as the headmistress of the school:
NameTenure of office
Mrs. Stronge 1957
Mrs. Doreen Warman1957–66
Mrs. Gladys Osae-Addo1966–82
Mrs. Victoria Oddoye1982–88
Mrs. Gladys Andrews1988–90
Mrs. Eileen Abbam1990–91
Mrs. Paulina Addo1991–96
Ms. Elinor Torto1997–03
Mrs. Afua Dake2003–19
Mrs. Nana Ama Badasu2019–

Notable alumni