The first class had sixteen boys and four teachers. In 1938, the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast opened a secondary school for boys at Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region, after years of lobbying by the educationist E.A.W. Engmann. Thirty years later, the school moved to a new campus at Legon in Accra. Presec, as everyone calls it, became one of the most famous schools in Ghana.
Engmann’s school
E.A.W. Engmann, a Ghanaian educator in the Presbyterian Church, pushed for a boys’ secondary school to match the church’s other institutions. He became the school’s first headmaster. The Presbyterian Church already ran schools across the south of the country, and a secondary school for boys was a natural next step.
Odumase-Krobo
For its first three decades, the school was based at Odumase-Krobo, a town in the Krobo area of the Eastern Region. Boys came from across the colony to board there.
The move to Legon
In September 1968, the new campus at Legon, north-east of the University of Ghana, received its first students. The site, near Mile 9 on the road towards Madina, was then on the edge of the city. Accra has since grown far around it.
National Science College
In the mid-1970s, the school’s sixth form was upgraded into a National Science College, and girls were admitted to the sixth form from 1975 until 1996. The arrangement reflected government efforts to strengthen science education.
Quiz champions
Presec is famous for its success in the National Science and Maths Quiz, the televised competition that grips Ghanaian schools each year. The school has won the competition many times and is regarded as one of its most successful participants. Its rivalry with schools such as Prempeh College and Mfantsipim fills social media every quiz season.
Old boys
Presec’s old students include politicians, scientists, doctors, business leaders and academics. The school’s alumni network is active and has supported projects on campus.
Boarding life
Like other leading senior high schools, Presec faces pressure on its facilities as student numbers rise under the Free SHS policy. Old students, companies and institutions have donated beds, buildings and equipment.
A Presbyterian school
The school remains under the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and keeps its Christian character, with chapel services and church-related activities alongside academic life.
A school that began with sixteen boys in a provincial town now sits in the middle of the capital, and every year its quiz team carries a reputation that started in a classroom at Odumase-Krobo.
