Adisadel College
Adisadel College, popularly known as "Adisco", is an Anglican boys' boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was established by Rt. Nathaniel T Hamlyn in 1910.
Adisadel College
- Name
- Adisadel College
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Overview
Overview
One of the oldest secondary schools in Ghana, and 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. Recently, they were ranked among the best senior high schools in Ghana per WAEC standards and is the best senior high school in Cape Coast according to the YEN in 2024.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Adisadel College • Motto Translation — Either the first or with the first • Location — Adisadel Village • Address — P. O. Box 83 • City — Cape Coast • Region — Central Region • State — Central Region • Postal Code — P.O. Box 83, 00233 Cape Coast • Country — Ghana • Sister School — Mfantsiman Girls' Secondary School • Religious Affiliation — Christianity • Denomination — Anglican • Affiliation — Anglican Church, Ghana • Founder — Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn • Head Label — Headmaster • Head — Samuel Agudogo • Faculty — 4 • Staff — 98 teachers • Avg Class Size — 60 • Gender — Boys • Lower Age — 14 • Upper Age — 18+ • Houses — 12 • Schooltype — All Boys School • Type — Missionary funding, Public High School • Enrolment — c. 3000 • Campus — 2; Leopoldville & Katanga • Athletics — Yes • Slogan — Play Up Santaclausians • Song — Up Santaculausians and Adisadel On the Hill • Motto — "Vel Primus Vel Cum Primis" • Rival — Mfantsipim School • Patron — St. Nicholas • Nickname — ADISCO • Colours — Black and White • Mascot — Zebra • Newspaper — Owl • Alumni — Adisadel Old Boys Association (AOBA) • Alumni Name — Santaclausians • Website — http: www.adisadelcollege.net • Illustration — The main Campus "Santa City"
History
History
Adisadel was established in 1910 in a building at Topp Yard, near Christ Church School, which is within the vicinity of Cape Coast Castle. The school began with 29 boys and by 1935, it had expanded to accommodate about 200 pupils. The school buildings were extended in 1950 by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. Student enrolment stood at 545, at the time of the school's Golden Jubilee in 1960. By the time the school celebrated its centenary anniversary in 2010, Adisadel could boast about 1500 boarding students and 93 teachers. The school's original founder was the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn, a missionary who was then Anglican Bishop of Accra between 1908 and 1910. Hamlyn's ambition was to establish a grammar school to educate the sons of Anglicans in the colony, and also create an educational institution which will serve as a training ground for the clergy. Adisadel College is the second-oldest secondary school in Ghana after Mfantsipim School, an arch rival that was established by the Methodist Church in 1876. Adisco is also one of the most famous high schools in sub-Saharan Africa.
Uniform
Uniform
The school uniform comprises black-and-white striped shirt and black shorts, directly reflecting the primary colours of the college. The distinctive outfit has earned Adisco students the nickname of "zebra boys". Prior to the introduction of this style of uniform in the 1990s, students of the old Form One to Form Five stream wore blue shirts and brown khaki shorts, while those in Sixth Form wore white shirts and brown shorts. Adisadel College was the first secondary school in the history of Ghana to design special cloaks for its prefects – red for the head prefect, blue for the other prefects, and green for the assistants – and the tradition persists till this day. Not quite the same for the school's cadet corp, where the commander and second-in-command of the cadet have their cloaks in laurel green, and the adjutants and regemental sargeant majors have theirs in royal blue. Their cloaks can be distinguished from the other prefects by their characterist camouflage fabric on the sleeves and collar.
Curriculum
Curriculum
• Business • General Science • Visual Arts • General Arts
Notable alumni
Notable alumni
• Head of State: Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa • Scientists: Ave Kludze, Thomas Mensah, Nii Quaynor • Speakers of Parliament: Rt.Hon Jacob Hackenburg Griffiths-Randolph, Rt.Hon Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes • Chief Justices: Justice George Kingsley Acquah, Justice Philip Edward Archer, Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu and Justice Robert John Hayfron-Benjamin(Botswana) • Supreme Court judges: Justice Koi Larbi, Justice Henry K. Prempeh, Justice Charles Hayfron-Benjamin and Justice Anselmus Kludze • Attorney-Generals of Ghana: Edward Nathaniel Moore, Godfred Yeboah Dame
Former headteachers
Former headteachers
• Name — From — To • G. B. Brown BA — 1910 — 1910 • B. P. Haines MA — 1910 — 1910 • G. B. Brown BA — 1910 — 1912 • Hugh Hare MA(Oxon) — 1913 — 1914 • R. Fisher MA(Cantab) — 1914 — 1918 • W. Hutton Mensah — 1918 — 1924 • S. R. S. Nicholas MA DTh(Durham) — 1924 — 1929 • A. J. Knight MA LLB(Cantab) — 1929 — 1937 • R. D. Hudson MA(Oxon) — 1938 — 1940 • W. G. Harward MA(Oxon) — 1947 — 1952 • A. R. H. Dee MA(Sydney) — 1954 — 1955 • L. W. Fry MA BSc(Oxon) — 1956 — 1958 • T. J. Drury MA(Cantab) — 1959 — 1963 • R. T. Orleans-Pobee BA(Lond) MEd(Springfield) — 1963 — 1974 • E. A. Jonah BA(Legon) — 1974 — 1982 • R. K. Ayitey BA(Ed.) — 1982 — 1991 • J. F. K. Appiah-Cobbold BA PGC. — 1991 — 1995 • J. E. C. Kitson BA PGCE) — 1995 — 2004 • H. K. K. Graham BSc(Hons) PGCE — 2005 — 2014 • William Kusi Yeboah — 2014 — 2019 • Francis Kwame Agbedanu — 2019 — 2020 • Samuel Agudogo — 2021 — Present
Publications
• Adisadel On The Hill: The History (1910–2010), by John Samuel Pobee, Vicar General of the Anglican Diocese of Accra. This book was published and launched in March 2010 to coincide with the school's centenary anniversary. • The Owl is a monthly newsletter for students and alumni of Adisadel College. • Reminiscences of Adisadel - A short historical sketch of ADISADEL COLLEGE, published in 1980, by G. McLean Amissah. • Reminiscences Of Adisadel College 1970-1975. Editors: Dr Paul Mensah; Dr Kwesi Bentum, Accra, Ghana: Buck Press Ltd, 2017,.
Recent awards
• Winners of the 2016 edition (and runners up on four other occasions) of the National Science and Maths Quiz • Winners of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 editions of the National Hockey Championship / Citizens International Inter-Schools (CIIS) Hockey fiesta. • Winners of 2021 National Robotics Championship.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Adisadel College, revision 1367758851 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Floods in Cape Coast: Fire Service rescues trapped pupils. Daily Graphic. 12 June 2015.
- 2.Mutuku, Ryan. Top 10 Senior High Schools in the Central Region of Ghana in 2024. Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. 2021-01-21.
- 3.Top 10 Oldest Senior High Schools in Ghana - Myshsrank. myshsrank.com.
- 4.Adisadel College. GhanaHighSchools.com.
- 5.top20highschools. Africa Almanac. 1 October 2003.
- 6.Kumi Robert. Top 50 Senior High Schools In Ghana 2023. Success Africa. 12 March 2023.
- 7.Mwendwa, Venic. 100 best senior high schools in Ghana (WAEC standard) 2023. Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. 2023-05-16.
- 8.Mutuku, Ryan. Top 10 Senior High Schools in the Central Region of Ghana in 2024. Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. 2021-01-21.
- 9.Holl, Jessica. Fry and Drew: From the Archives. 4 February 2013.
- 10.Adisadel Honours Old Boys. Modern Ghana.
- 11.adisadelonline. Adisadel Historical Sketch.
- 12.Adisadel College.
- 13.adisadelonline. Owl on the web.
- 14.Adisadel College Past Headmasters. adisadelcollege.net.
- 15.Adisadel headmaster takes home four vehicles as retirement package; PTA fumes. Daily Graphic. 23 January 2014.
- 16.Severious Kale-Dery. Adisadel College Headmaster relieved of position. Daily Graphic. 1 March 2019.
- 17.Arku, Jasmine. Adisadel College wins 2016 National Science and Maths Quiz. Daily Graphic. 29 June 2016.
- 18.CIIS Hockey Fiesta: Edinaman dethrones K Gee while ADISCO makes it four. GhanaWeb. 18 June 2019.
- 19.(Photos) Adisadel College wins National Robotics Championship - Supadupanews.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 26 September 2026.
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