Augusco hits 80th milestone

BY PETER S.M. AGBEKO

As an academic institution of excellence, St. Augustine’s College (Augusco) has in its 80 years of existence produced some of the finest citizens of the land and by extension contributed immensely to national development. Augusco is the premier Catholic Senior High School in Ghana without doubt.

And what’s unique about Augusco is the balanced nature of its products: High academic standards combined with a decent social life and upbringing, a fair dose of sporting excellence all underpinned by a tried and tested religious set of values – this cocktail remains the hallmark of great Augusco.

The Catholic Church in Ghana established St. Augustine’s College as a teacher training college and seminary at Amisano near Elmina in 1930. The two institutions, however, separated a few years later due to operational difficulties. In 1936, the Teacher Training College at Amisano (St. Augustine’s Training College) was moved to Cape Coast to join the new Catholic Secondary School (St. Augustine’s College). Together they had a student population of 145. Today, Augusco has a student population of just under 1,400.

The College is named after St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354 – 430 AD). In choosing Augustine of Hippo as the Patron Saint, the founding fathers of the school cherished the hope that the laudable qualities of St. Augustine as well as his exemplary life would serve to illuminate, instruct, inform, touch, and mould the lives of all products of the College.

The College Flag is hoisted with a combination of two colours – green on top and white below. Green depicts the catholic identity of the College and white its readiness to coexist with all other institutions of learning that share a common vision and mission. The motto of the College is rendered in Latin as “Omnia Vincit Labor,” which translated in English is: “labour conquers all.” The College Coat of Arms consists of a shield emblazoned with a white cross on a green field. Superimposed on the white cross is a lighted torch, flanked by a laurel of yellow olive branches.

The College’s location is simply breathtaking and for those of you who are unaware, Augusco shares a boundary with the Atlantic Ocean, separated by a road and a beach lined by fruit bearing coconut trees. From the school compound one can clearly see and hear the sea waves, somebody help me out, but I am yet to hear of any other institution blessed with such a gift of nature. Thanks to APSU 1984, the Augusco frontage, has been beautified and secured with a gate project, which when fully completed, will be a sight to behold.

Hopefully, some day, Augusco will explore the possibility of a desalination plant to resolve the School’s water challenges. Even our bitterest rivals in Cape-Coast and beyond, publicly and privately acknowledge Augusco’s rich tradition and location as a unique selling point. Talking about names, what do the following people have in common, aside from being males and Ghanaians? Prof. Cliff Tagoe, Kabral Blay-Amihere, Emile Short, Ben Brako, Emmanuel Dadson, Michael Essien, Dr. Mike Wilson, Dr. Akoto Bamford, JP Johnson, Peter Worgbah, Hope Avorkliyah and Dr. Yao Graham. They are all APSUNIANS (Old boys of St. Augustine’s College) who passionately share in the motto, ‘Omnia Vincit Labor’. Come to the next Speech and Prize giving day slated for Saturday, March 20, 2010 and you are certain to meet and network with a good number of your mates and friends.

And as His Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson said last year, “we salute the great founders and pioneers whose toil has borne so much fruit for both the Church and the State. We humbly appeal to all year Groups and the entire APSU Family to get on board as the School prepares and gears up to celebrate its 80^th birthday, at the same time 80 years of Catholic Secondary Education in Ghana.” “We throw the entire APSU Family the great challenge to mark 2010, the 80^th Anniversary a significant landmark, with some development project to give the School a facelift.’ The bio-gas project is set to do just that, so let’s all contribute generously to this worthy cause.

My intelligence has picked reports that our sisters from Holy Child (Mons), past and present will storm the place to create the needed gender balance. Wesley Girls and Mfantsiman you are all invited, same with Aggrey and National; Mfantismpim and Adisco you are also welcome, but you are encouraged to maintain a hands-off policy. Everybody interested in the promotion of good quality high school education is invited to join in the programme of activities.

As part of its 80th anniversary project start-off, Augusco is going green. Bio Gas for waste to energy, rain harvesting for cost and efficiency, and solar power for laboratories, virtual and actual.

Now let’s talk about gas and what Augusco intends to do. Augusco at 80 is delving into the arena of bio-gas! The 1985-year group of APSU is spearheading the bio-gas project which involves setting up a system to convert human waste into energy. The project was selected after a needs assessment and a series of consultations between the APSUNIANS and the school administration. The entire project will cost GHC 100,000 and this by all standards represents value for money.

The main resource for sustaining the plant will always be in abundant supply what with the availability of healthy young boys and a regular supply of bio-waste, keeping the plant operational should not be a challenge. The thousands of medical doctors produced by Augusco will deal swiftly with any signs of the students constipating!

With less than a month to go for the 80th anniversary all APSUNIAN’s, friends and well-wishers are reminded to block the date on their calendars. Also please start putting aside some funds to enable you and the family come spend the weekend in Cape-Coast with many others. Remember what H.E. Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson said elsewhere in this piece.

He says we should all put our hands to the wheel. And as many past students of every school will confirm, the bond with the old school never really breaks. Indeed it is umbilical, and not surprisingly so. The term Alma Mater actually derives from “Alma Mater Studorium,” or “Nourishing Mother of Studies.”

According to APSU national president, Kofi Bucknor, the alma mater “is where nature meets nurture; where one’s natural abilities flower in the rich experiential learning, where you get to know who you are, how to live with others, learn the rules of conduct, nourish your ambition, mould your personality and find friends for life”. Kofi Bucknor believes that, “the old school is the incubator in which the raw youth of our national leadership is formed into positive citizenship.”

As part of activities marking the 80th anniversary celebrations, there will be a dinner dance and an awards ceremony to recognize and honour APSUNIANS who have excelled in their fields of endeavour. Non-APSUNIANS who have contributed variously to Augusco over the years will also be similarly recognized and honoured. Talking about APSUNIANS to be recognized and honoured brings to mind names like Prof. Dr. Herbert Winful, Prof. Maurice Brunner, Jude Kofi Bucknor, Dr. Thaddeus Ulzen, Dr. Honny, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang and Dr Robert Adjaye. It will be remiss to overlook any one of them, for their records speak volumes.

The occasion will also be used to introduce the APSU mentorship programme the very first of its kind in Ghana. Be there to hear Mr. Kofi Bucknor spill the beans. The 1979-year group represented by Dr. Alex Kwakye of Marina Clinic in Accra will spearhead the mentorship programme. They have designed a comprehensive mentoring programme, which fits perfectly into the framework of the APSU national agenda.

APSU at 80, is set to chart a new course, and as John F. Kennedy puts it, “let us think of education as the means to developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation”

We need to say Ayeeko to all the past and current staff of great Augusco. Past headmasters such as Irish Fathers Brendan Kelly and Glenn, late Mr. Sebastian Oppong, Samuel Seddoh, late Thomas Commey and Billy Cobbinah, Luke Gyasi Appiah, Rev. Father Gabriel Mensah, Mr. Jerry Koomson and Mr. Frank Amissah all deserve commendation. Indeed same goes for the current headmaster Mr. Joseph Connel and his able team.