About - St. Thomas Acquinas Senior High, Cantonments history

St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School was established on the 15th January 1952 by the Divine Word Missionaries (popularly known as the SVD) under the leadership of Fr. Cletus Hoddap and Msgr. Adolf Noser (SVD. This was partly an effort of the SVD to fulfil their mandate of equipping the young men of the Gold Coast with the truth of the good news of the Gospel, so that the truth may set them free (Veritas Liberat) and help them to spread the good news to others. At the same time, it enabled the Accra Arch-Diocese of the Catholic Church (then known as the Accra Vicariate), which by then had 160 schools with 12,400 pupils, to provide post-primary education for the young men of Accra and its immediate environs. An old house at Osu (now St. Peter’s Catholic Parish) was acquired to begin the school. The new school opened its doors to the first batch of boys in February 1952 with Fr. Alphonse Elsebernd as Headmaster. The initial faculty was made up four staff: two Rev. Fathers (George Wilson and Dale Fisher), and two lay teachers (Messrs. Augustine Adu-Amankwah and Paul Baddoo). From the get go, the missionaries intended Aquinas to be a day boys’ school (which it has remained to this day). The students represented the diverse communities of the city of Accra, including Osu, La, Nungua, Ga Mashie, Nima, Zongo, Sukura, Mamprobi, Mamobi, and Achimota among others. They also came from all levels of the social stratum, from the lower class to the upper class, and all the classes in-between. And though a Catholic school, Aquinas took in students from other faiths, without forcing the Catholic faith on them. St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School has grown from its humble beginning to a formidable institution of learning in Ghana today, with a total student population of about 2,170 and a total staff strength of about 141, made up of about 100 teachers and 41 support persons. It is a category A school that consistently ranks among the first five schools nation-wide on the GES Senior High School League Table. As a matter of fact, Aquinas is the only absolute day school that ranks this high. Though, the students’ WASSCE performance is generally excellent in all programmes, Aquinas is especially recognised as a science-biased school. In May, 2022 Aquinas celebrated its 70th Anniversary. It continues to pursue the aim of the founding fathers of providing a sound secondary education together with good moral and religious training to all the gentlemen who come through its gates. As city day school, however, Aquinas encounters a number of challenges, notably, student lateness and absenteeism. While some students stay afar off, and routinely get to school after 8:00 am, others are distracted by the lures of city life, and tend to wander around before getting to school. The causes of absenteeism are also varied, ranging from illness to lack of transport money to parental neglect. An emerging threat to student school presence and classroom work is the betting houses spring up all-around Accra, and the online betting platforms that support them. Students are beginning to get enticed to and distracted by these quick money schemes. The motto of the school is ‘Veritas Liberat’ (The Truth Shall Set You Free). It is drawn from John 8:32 (So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”) The old students are known as Old Toms, and all continuing students are called Gentlemen.