Founded in 1927 by Gordon Guggisberg, Kwegyir-Aggrey, and Rev Fraser, the school is symbolic of excellence, discipline, and national pride.
Located in Achimota, a suburb of Accra, the school which was formerly known as the Prince Of Wale's College is Ghana's oldest government secondary school and also the only mixed educational establishment.
The centre of the school complex, which besides a primary and a secondary school consists also of a school-own kindergarten, a hospital, a police station, and a golf course.
The motto of the school is Ut Omnes Unum Sint meaning "That all may be one", a reference to the founders' expressed the philosophy that starting in the context of school life, black and white, male and female, everyone should integrate and combine synergistically for the good of all.
It has churned out a number of key personalities in politics, entertainment, sports, fashion, and science.
Pulse.com.gh in this article, presents 10 eminent politicians, musicians, scientists et al who attended the prestigious Achimota School in Ghana.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957
He was an influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962.
Nkrumah was Ghana's President and he was in office for 5 years, 240 days between July 1, 1960, to February 24, 1966.
He attended Government Training College soon to become Achimota School and graduated in 1930.
John Dumelo
John Dumelo is an actor, farmer, and politician.
On April 1, 2014, he emerged as the first Ghanaian to hit a million likes on Facebook.
He had his basic education at Christ the King School in Accra.
He attended Achimota School was part of the Drama Club and also won the Fliers Guy in Mo-town prize and further studied Civil Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
He contested in 'Mr. University and won at KNUST. Later, he enrolled in GIMPA's School of Public Service and Governance.
During the National Democratic Congress, (NDC) campaign in 2016, he was one of the most influential and outstanding celebrities who were seen campaigning for the NDC government.
On August 24, 2019, he won the NDC parliamentary primaries to represent the NDC in Ayawaso West Wougon Constituency in the 2020 general elections.
Dumelo lost the parliamentary elections to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) incumbent Lydia Alhassan for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency in the December 7, 2020, polls.
John Evans Atta Mills
He was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in July 2012.
Atta Mills was previously the Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and he contested unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He had his primary and middle school education at Huni Valley Methodist Primary School and Komenda Methodist Middle School respectively.
He then proceeded to the prestigious Achimota School for his secondary education, where he completed the Ordinary and Advanced-Level Certificates in 1961 and 1963 respectively, and the University of Ghana, Legon, where he completed a bachelor of a law degree, LLB, and a professional law certificate in 1967.
Joyce Rosalind Aryee
She is a Ghanaian former politician, business executive, and minister. Aryee is recognized for having served Ghana for more than 40 years in both the public and private sectors.
From 2001 to 2011, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and was the first woman in Africa to have held that role.
She has also held political roles in Ghana from the early years of the PNDC government. She is currently the Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministries, a para-church organization.
She is an Honorary Council Member of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors.
She went to Achimota School and graduated in 1969 from the University of Ghana, Legon with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in English.
From 1982 to 1985 Aryee was appointed by the late former president Jerry John Rawlings as the secretary of information for the PNDC.
From 1985 to 1987 she was Minister of Education and in 1987–88 Minister of Local Government. From 1988 to 2001 she was Minister of Democracy in the Office of the Prime Minister, and from 1993 to 2001 a Member of the National Defence Council.
She was formerly married to Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby.
Obed Asamoah
Obed Asamoah is a lawyer, academic, and politician.
Asamoah was the longest-serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under the late former president Jerry Rawlings regime from 1981 to 1997.
He gained his admission at the Achimota School and later took the O' level Latin in 1955 and proceeded to Britain in 1956 to complete the sixth form at Woolwich Polytechnic before going on admission to King’s College, London University where he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) with honours in 1960.
During his secondary school years in Achimota, he had an eye-opening event in the political world as there was the fight for independence amid all the colonial rule and political disputes.
He grew up to become a political figure in Ghana, from being a member of the constituent assembly, member of parliament, Minister of foreign affairs, Attorney General of Ghana and Minister for Justice, and the chairman of the National Democratic Congress.
Ken Ofori-Atta
He is an economist, investment banker, and politician as well as the co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian investment firm. He currently serves as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on January 10, 2017, and assumed office on January 27, 2017.
Ofori-Atta had his education at Achimota School in Ghana, after attending the Accra Newtown Experimental School.
Alan John Kyeremanteng
Alan John Kyerematen is a politician, corporate executive, diplomat, and international public servant specialising in global trade issues.
Kyerematen was Ambassador to the United States and later Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development (PSD) and the Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI), under the President Kufuor-led NPP government.
He attempted the leadership of the New Patriotic Party in 2007, capturing 32.3% of votes cast.
He was the first runner-up to Nana Akufo-Addo who gained 47.96% of votes cast.
In 2017, Kyerematen was sworn in as Ghana's Trade Minister after he was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He attended the prestigious Achimota School afterward for his sixth form of education.
He proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon for a Bachelor's degree in Economics.[16] Kyerematen also holds a Law degree, LLB from the Ghana Law School at the same university where he qualified as a Barrister-at-Law.
Andrews Kwame Pianim
Kwame Pianim is a celebrated Ghanaian business economist and investment consultant.
After ten years as a political prisoner, he made a 1996 bid to run for the presidency of Ghana.
Switching gears, he found success as a businessman in Accra.
Kwame Pianim attended Achimota School for his secondary education. He holds a B.A. Double Honours in Economics and Political Science from the University of New Brunswick, Canada (1963) and M.A. in Economics from Yale University (1964), USA.
He was arrested with a group of soldiers including Sgt. Akata Pore on 23 November 1982 following the capture of part of Gondar Barracks, Burma Camp in an apparent abortive coup attempt.
His attempts to contest the 1996 presidential elections on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)were scuppered when the Supreme Court ruled to uphold a controversial law preventing individuals convicted of treasonous acts from holding public office, even if such acts were committed during periods of unconstitutional rule.
Following the Court's decision, he resigned from politics to focus on private activities within the realm of development economics.
Prof. Ernest Aryeetey
He is the Secretary-General of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana.
Before he was appointed Vice-Chancellor, he was a Senior Fellow and Director of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
He was also Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, Legon for the period February 2003 – January 2010.
Aryeetey was educated at Achimota School (1968-1973) and at the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon (1973-1975).
He studied Economics with Statistics (1975-1978) at the University of Ghana and took a master's degree in Regional Planning at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (1979-1981) and obtained a Ph.D. (Doktor-Ingenieur) from the University of Dortmund, Germany in 1985.
Reggie Rockstone
Reggie Rockstone is a Ghanaian rapper.
He was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Ghana in Kumasi and Accra.
He pioneered the Hiplife art form and has played an important role in the development of this uniquely African genre in Ghana's capital Accra. He raps in Akan Twi and English.
He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip-Life movement in 1994.
Reggie Rockstone is an alumnus of the prestigious Achimota School and he attached himself to the Hip Hop movement in the early '80s as a dancer.
Traveling on a tri-continental basis (i.e. Accra, New York, London), he broadened his Hip Hop scope.
A natural performer and trained actor, he grabbed the mic with no problem when his calling came in 1991.