Jirapa, Nov. 14, GNA - The Saint Francis of Assisi Girls Senior High School in Jirapa scored 100 per cent in the 2009 West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) with aggregate 11 as the best academic performance. Out of the 212 candidates that wrote the WASSCE, 117 recorded aggregates 6- 24.

Reverend Sister Janis Gbiel, Headmistress who made this known at the 50th anniversary celebration of the school at Jirapa said the record was an improvement of the 99.3 per cent recorded in 2000. She said in 2003, the League Table of the Ministry of Education on Senior High Schools, placed St. Francis at the 60th position out of the 501 second cycle schools in the country. She said currently, the school was counted among the category "A" Senior High Schools in the country and attributed the academic achievement to high discipline and hard work among the students, teachers and supporting staff.

The theme for the anniversary is: "50th years of quality Catholic education - The way forward: Reinforcement of the girl-child education." The school was established in 1959 as the first girls' secondary school in the North.

At that time 12 girls shared a room in the Convent compound of the Catholic Mission House in Jirapa. The student population now stands at 800. Rev. Sister Gbiel said: "We make conscious efforts daily to instil and maintain discipline in both staff and students. We believe we cannot achieve academic greatness without discipline." She said the school was faced with numerous infrastructure problems and other challenges.

She said the school needed seven- classroom block to accommodate the fourth year students for the 2011 academic year, whilst the Information, Communication and Telecommunication centre lacked furnishing and Internet service. The school is also facing challenges of inadequate staff bungalows and lacked administrative block.

Rev. Sister Gbiel paid gratitude to the founders of the school for their foresight, which gave girls the opportunity to access formal education and cultivated them spiritually so that they could be conscious of their dignity as females in order to exercise their responsibilities to society. She also commended the Catholic Church, the Ghana Education Trust Fund, Jirapa District Assembly, Old Girls Association of the school, Parent-Teacher Association and benevolent organisations for their valuable contributions towards the sustenance of the school. 14 Nov. 09