St. James’ Seminary Launches 40th Anniversary Events

Saint James’ Seminary and Senior High School has launched its 40th anniversary celebrations in Sunyani.The launch which was held at the school’s premises on Saturday marks the beginning of activities planned for the year-long event under the theme, “Discipline and Academic Excellence in Senior High Schools; The Role of Religious Bodies in Ghana”.In attendance were dignitaries from religion, politics, business, education and representatives from the Old Boys AssociationIn his welcome address, The Chairman of the Board of Governors, Monsignor George Kwame Kumi acknowledged the contributions of various individuals and paid glowing tribute to the pioneers as well as all who ensured St. James’ survived its most difficult early years.Touting the academic abilities of St. James’ Seminary, Msgr Kumi indicated that the school has always produced excellent results to the amazement of even examiners. He cited an incident in the 80’s where one student scored 100% in a final Bible Knowledge paper, and got the examination body to setup a committee of senior examiners to re-mark his paper, but ended up giving him more marks since they found no errors in his work.Msgr Kumi added that, students of St. James’ Seminary can do extremely well and therefore the school’s full potential is yet to be seen. “Since life begins at 40, I can assure you that with the new breed and caliber of leadership in our Rector (Rev. Fr.) Ebo, the quality of staff that we have today and the character of students that are here, the best is yet to come”, he opined.Speaking as the guest of honour, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sunyani, Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi highlighted the influence of strict discipline on the achievements of the school and the benefits that come with the church’s involvement in education.“The Seminary Secondary School has maintained its original code of discipline…, its academic standards and continue to offer subjects like Latin…..It is no wonder that the students of St James’ Seminary Secondary School excel in the academic and other fields. This school and many Catholic High schools do demonstrate beyond any shade of doubt that the involvement and acceptance of the church by the state to play its proper role in education delivery produces not only young people with well educated minds but also disciplined and well-governed citizens for our nation..”, he noted.Most Rev. Gyamfi admonished stakeholders to “thank God for the school’s successes and celebrate the anniversary in a more productive way”.The president of the Old Boys Association, Dr Adu Appiah-Kubi, expressed gratitude to the staff of the school and pledged the support of the alumni to the development of the best school in Ghana.The anniversary logo was unveiled after which a fundraiser was held to raise money towards some infrastructural projects being undertaken in the school.St James’ Seminary was established in 1978 by the late Bishop of the Sunyani Catholic Diocese, Most Reverend James Kwadwo Owusu. The school which initially trained only seminarians scored higher in WAEC’s O’ Level Examinations until it opened up in the early 90s and was absolved by government to accept non-seminarians.It has risen through the years to become the best school in Ghana and even produced best WASSCE students in Ghana and West Africa on several occasions. St James’ Seminary and Secondary School has won several awards in both the sciences and arts including the National Independence Day Debate.The anniversary celebrations would be climaxed in November this year.