That storey building at Topp Yard, not
far from the Christ Anglican Church and the Cape Coast Castle, should
necessarily be the Mecca of all Santaclausians. For it was there that the S.P.G.
(Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) Grammar School took seed,
germinated and grew to become Adisadel College. It was there in 1910 that the
Anglican religious order (S.P.G.) decided to establish an institution to provide
sound education, of the grammar school type, for the children of members of the
Anglican Church. It was at Topp Yard that the objective was laid also to train
young men with the right inclination and aptitude for the ministry "to advance
the work of the local church". And the moving spirit, the presiding genius, was
the Right Reverend Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn, D.D., Bishop of the then newly
created Anglican Diocese of Accra.
The School appears to have been born
under very propitious circumstances. In one significant respect, its
establishment marked the beginning of educational ferment. (The Wesleyan Mission
had established the only Secondary School, Mfantsipim, at Cape Coast in 1876).
At the same time, efforts were then being made, in enlightened quarters, to
break new grounds in the concept of education and training of the African,
notably in the British West African territories.
Viewed against this background, it is
interesting to observe that the ideal objective of the grammar school education
which the Founder had in mind was not the mere acquisition of academic knowledge
as an end in itself; the emphasis was on a sound liberal education, geared
towards an all-round development of the character as well as the latent talents
and capabilities of the young ones. This implies, in the modern sense, the
development of a completely integrated personality, resilient in strength and
adaptable to meet the needs and circumstances of the times. In other words, the
School was designed to help turn out useful citizens, able to use their
physical, mental and spiritual faculties effectively for the improvement of the
society in which they live and for the good of humanity as a whole. That, in
broad outline, formed the ultimate goal of education and training envisaged for
the new School.
Twenty-nine boys, who constituted the
"Foundation Scholars", were enrolled to begin life at the Topp Yard. Their
course of instruction was to lead them to the College of Preceptors Examination.
Under Revd. George Barton Brown (initially) and Revd. Benjamin Philips Haines,
both appointed headmasters by the SPG mission in London, the -grammar
school took off amidst several limitations. Topp Yard was all-in-all to the boys
and they, as pioneers, made very good use of their opportunities there.
In 1912, the Grammar School presented
her first batch of students for the College of Preceptors examinations. And what
pride did the School not have when it was announced that all the candidates had
passed! Above all else, one of the candidates, James Hector Mayne, set a record
of the College of Preceptors examinations for West Africa by securing six
distinctions at a sitting! This achievement of the School naturally surpassed
the modest expectations of the public. It was no surprise that many parents of
the Anglican Church in Accra. Sekondi and Kumasi began clamouring for places for
their children at the School. And as interest in the School grew with the years,
the authorities were obliged to open the doors of the School to all qualified
boys irrespective of the Church they belonged to.
In the same -year, 1912, the founder,
Bishop Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn, left the country for good. His place was taken
by Bishop Mowbray Stephen O'Rorke in 1913. It must be emphasized that the
School's attachment to the Anglican Mission was like that of a son to a dear
father. And it was this relationship that prompted Bishop O'Rorke to recommend
the sponsorship of one of the hard working students. Stephen Richard Seaton
Nicholas had shown great promise both inside and outside the classroom, and he
therefore deserved it, when the Bishop recommended that he be given the
opportunity to prepare himself for service to the School and the Church.
Young Nicholas was accordingly sent
to the C.M.S Grammar School, Freetown, in Sierra Leone, and then to Fourah Bay
College where he eventually graduated M.A.; D.Th. (Dunelm).
When Stephen Nicholas returned home in
1922, he joined the staff of S.P.G. Grammar School which was then headed by a
minister of the Church, the Revd. William Hutton-Mensah. Hutton Mensah one of
the first two African candidates for the ministry to be ordained to the
priesthood in 1916 (the other was Ezra Douglas Martinson) joined the staff of
S.P.G. Grammar School in 1910 and was the only Ghanaian among the pioneers. Born
in 1883, he had attended the Government Boys School in Cape Coast and had
furthered his education privately in English, Latin, Greek and Mathematics to
obtain a First Class Teachers Certificate. In 1917 when Revd. Robert Fisher the
headmaster was transferred to Accra, Revd. Hutton-Mensah stepped into his
shoes.
During his 47 years service to the
Church and the School (he was later sent to Kumasi take charge of the St.
Cyprian's Parish), Revd. Hutton-Mensah inspired a good number of people,
including S. R. S. Nicholas, with his sincerity, devotion to duty and sense of
mission.
In 1924, the School was placed on the
"Assisted" list, which meant that the government was liable to support the
School by the provision of yearly grants of a substantial amount to supplement
the income of the institution. The year 1924 is very significant in the history
of Adisadel College. In that year, the Anglican Mission decided to rename the
School ST. NICHOLAS GRAMMAR SCHOOL and the headmaster was to be S.R.S.
Nicholas. The Anglican bishop of Accra was then the Right Revd.
John Orfeur Aglionby, M.C., D.D.
With a student population of about 150
and a teaching staff of six, St. Nicholas Grammar School was to set itself new
heights. Subjects taught at the School included Latin, Greek, English, Geometry,
Arithmetic Algebra and Scriptures. The then head-prefect of the School, W.E.P.
Essuman-Gwira, the former Chairman of the Cape Coast Municipal Council,
remembers with nostalgia that the twenties were challenging years for the
School. (Incidentally, Willie Essuman-Gwira was the only Form Six student in
1924. A surveyor by profession, he became the first Chairman of the Cape Coast
Town Planning Committee).
Stephen Nicholas is described by some
of the students of his time as a resourceful man with a youthful personality.
His contemporaries remember him for his "sonorous, musical voice."
It was with a lot of energy and
vitality that he set himself the task of making the School one of the "best" in
the country. He brought dynamism into the School's life and introduced several
innovations and reforms. A classical scholar himself, he took steps to put the
School on a sound classical basis. (Greek was introduced when Nicholas was
headmaster, and for the first time a play, ANTIGONE, was acted in Greek).
Nicholas initiated the system of School Houses - "Primus", "Secundus", and "Tertius"
- to facilitate order and good administration. He also appointed Housemasters
who saw to the discipline and welfare of the boys.
Believing in the age-old maxim that
"all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" Stephen Nicholas introduced
Inter-House Athletic Sports competitions into the School. This became an annual
feature that attracted many spectators from all walks of life. This development
went a long way to provide "crack" athletes who won laurels for the School in
the Inter-College Athletic Sports meetings. (Mfantsipim School was the main
rival). It is to Nicholas' credit that academic achievements combine so well
with sporting honours in Adisadel today.
St. Nicholas Grammar School made
steady progress under Stephen Nicholas. However, in 1929, Nicholas had to give
way to another English man, the Revd. Alan John Knight, M.A., L.L.B. (Cantab)
who was appointed to head the School with Stephen Nicholas as assistant.
The pair co-operated quite
effectively and initiated moves that were to transform the image and life style
of the School. One of their most outstanding achievements was to have found a
new site near Adisadel village at the outskirts of Cape Coast town, about six
kilometres away.
The premises at
Topp yard were found to have outlived their usefulness, the student population
having risen and new areas introduced into the life of the School. Nicholas made
the necessary contacts with the landowners, the Ebiradze stool family and with
the support and zeal of Alan Knight, they both rallied the staff and students
together to build "Adisadel College" almost from scratch.
It
was the movement that could properly be described as the journey from Topp Yard
to Hill Top, the moving spirit being what has become known as "The Adisadel
Spirit," for the students themselves provided the much needed labour for the
building project.
