Accra Academy Senior High School has held its 86th Anniversary Speech and Prize Giving Day.

The event brought together past and present “Bleobii” local and abroad was held under the theme: Making Secondary Education Relevant-The Role of Information and Communication Technology. Sponsors were the 1986 Year Group.

The chairman for the occasion was Bleoobi Dr. Benjamin Armah Quaye, a Chartered Real Estate Surveyor and Guest Speaker was Bleoobi Dr. Solomon N.K. Fixon-Owoo, an Administrator/Entrepreneur.

The event begun with the inspection of the school’s Cadet Corps by the Board Chairman, Chairman for the occasion, Headmaster, Guest Speaker, Chairman of the 86 Year Group and the Director General of the Ghana Education Service.

In his Welcome address, Mr. Wilson Tei, Chairman of the Board of Governors reiterated that the Speech and Prize Giving Day is a time to take stock, reflect on the school’s challenges and achievement, honor those who have assisted the school’s activities and finally recognize students who have excelled to serve as encouragement to others.

“The achievements of Accra Academy go beyond our expectation and has influenced the world in many ways such as Politics, Medicine, Engineering, Education, Finance, Military and even Sports” he touted.

He extended gratitude to all stakeholders especially the Headmaster and his team who played a vital role in the 2016 WASSCE results.

Dr. Benjamin Armah Quaye, the Chairman for the occasion in his opening remarks congratulated recipients of prizes and awards, noting that it was “the fruits of years of hard work that have culminated in this day, marking a significant achievement and making all of us very proud of your accomplishment”.

He recounted how the training received from Accra Academy has shaped the minds of Bleobii to contribute to the development of the country. Dr. Quaye admonished the current students to “remember that to be relevant, you must first strive to excel in the little things that you do so that that greater things can be bestowed on you”.

The Headmaster, Mr. Samuel Ofori-Agyei in his report recounted contributions of committed Bleobii (Old Students) to projects, scholarships, professional advice and financial support. He commented that it is in this spirit that the mantle of sponsoring the 86thevent was being done by the Bleoo ’86 Group. He informed the gathering that “As a birthday gift, Bleoo ’86 is providing a fully equipped computer laboratory”and commended the Group for their support.

Mr. Samuel Ofori-Agyei reported that the school continues to make giant strides in the second cycle education.

“We are celebrating the anniversary at the time when we posted the best WASSCE results ever and also capping it with the second best WASSCE candidate in Ghana and the third best in West Africa” he touted.

The Guest Speaker, Bleoobi Dr. Solomon N. K. Fixon-Owoo, in his keynote address stated that “the traditional paradigm in education is giving way to a new paradigm in which Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enhance the teaching-learning process.

As ICTs are incorporated in education the trend of a classroom and text book based educational system is becoming more and more outdated. By incorporating these technological trends into the educational system, a higher quality education can be provided at a cheaper cost and spread over a larger segment of the population”.

The Group Committee Chairman of the Bleoo ’86, Bleoobi Nii Adotey Mingle on behalf of the group commented on the infrastructural challenges the school was faced with.

He mentioned that “When an Accra Academy Alumnus enters the school and spends just 5 minutes looking around, it dawns on you that most structures have remained unchanged. Government alone cannot be left to do all and this is where as an Alumnus, you ask yourself what you can do for your Alma Mater”.

“We are proud Old students of this great Institution and in our deliberations and social gatherings over the years we harbored the dream of giving back to Accra Academy”. He disclosed that the Group settled on supporting in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) since the use of ICT today impacts on the lives of every living being on earth.

The occasion was also used by Bleoo 86, the sponsors of the event, to honour one of their members, Group Captain Joshua Mensah-Larkai who was the Commanding Officer of the UN Operations in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) GHAV.19.

In addition to distinguishing himself and holding the Flag of Ghana high, he was also the Parade Commander during the 60th Anniversary Parade at the Independence Square on 6th March, 2017.

The event also saw a site tour of the ICT Centre funded by the Bleoo ’86. The facility can accommodate up to one hundred students and two teachers at any point in time