# Adisadel College

Adisadel College, popularly known as "Adisco", is an Anglican boys' boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was established by Rt. Rev. Nathaniel T Hamlyn in 1910. Adisadel College is one of the oldest secondary schools in Ghana, and was ranked 10th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based on quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility. Recently, they were ranked among the best senior high schools in Ghana per WAEC standards and is the best senior high schools in Cape Coast according to the YEN in 2024.

## History

Adisadel was established in 1910 in a building at Topp Yard, near Christ Church School, which is within the vicinity of Cape Coast Castle. The school began with 29 boys and by 1935, it had expanded to accommodate about 200 pupils. The school buildings were extended in 1950 by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. Student enrolment stood at 545, at the time of the school's Golden Jubilee in 1960. By the time the school celebrated its centenary anniversary in 2010, Adisadel could boast about 1500 boarding students and 93 teachers.
The school's original founder was the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn, a missionary who was then Anglican Bishop of Accra between 1908 and 1910. Hamlyn's ambition was to establish a grammar school to educate the sons of Anglicans in the colony, and also create an educational institution which will serve as a training ground for the clergy.
Adisadel College is the second-oldest secondary school in Ghana after Mfantsipim School, an arch rival that was established by the Methodist Church in 1876. Adisco is also one of the most famous high schools in sub-Saharan Africa.

### Uniform

The school uniform comprises black-and-white striped shirt and black shorts, directly reflecting the primary colours of the college. The distinctive outfit has earned Adisco students the nickname of "zebra boys". Prior to the introduction of this style of uniform in the 1990s, students of the old Form One to Form Five stream wore blue shirts and brown khaki shorts, while those in Sixth Form wore white shirts and brown shorts. Adisadel College was the first secondary school in the history of Ghana to design special cloaks for its prefects – red for the head prefect, blue for the other prefects, and green for the assistants – and the tradition persists till this day.

## Courses Offered

* Business
* General Science
* Visual Arts
* General Arts

## Headmasters

| Name | From | To |
| G. B. Brown BA | 1910 | 1910 |
| B. P. Haines MA | 1910 | 1910 |
| G. B. Brown BA | 1910 | 1912 |
| Hugh Hare MA(Oxon) | 1913 | 1914 |
| R. Fisher MA(Cantab) | 1914 | 1918 |
| W. Hutton Mensah | 1918 | 1924 |
| S. R. S. Nicholas MA DTh(Durham) | 1924 | 1929 |
| A. J. Knight MA LLB(Cantab) | 1929 | 1937 |
| R. D. Hudson MA(Oxon) | 1938 | 1940 |
| W. G. Harward MA(Oxon) | 1947 | 1952 |
| A. R. H. Dee MA(Sydney) | 1954 | 1955 |
| L. W. Fry MA BSc(Oxon) | 1956 | 1958 |
| T. J. Drury MA(Cantab) | 1959 | 1963 |
| R. T. Orleans-Pobee BA(Lond) MEd(Springfield) | 1963 | 1974 |
| E. A. Jonah BA(Legon) | 1974 | 1982 |
| R. K. Ayitey BA(Ed.) | 1982 | 1991 |
| J. F. K. Appiah-Cobbold BA PGC. | 1991 | 1995 |
| J. E. C. Kitson BA PGCE) | 1995 | 2004 |
| H. K. K. Graham BSc(Hons) PGCE | 2005 | 2014 |
| William Kusi Yeboah | 2014 | 2019 |
| Francis Kwame Agbedanu | 2019 | 2020 |
| Samuel Agudogo | 2021 | Present |

## Publications

* Adisadel On The Hill: The History (1910–2010), by John Samuel Pobee, Vicar General of the Anglican Diocese of Accra. This book was published and launched in March 2010 to coincide with the school's centenary anniversary.
* The Owl is a monthly newsletter for students and alumni of Adisadel College.
* Reminiscences of Adisadel - A short historical sketch of ADISADEL COLLEGE, published in 1980, by G. McLean Amissah.
* Reminiscences Of Adisadel College 1970-1975. Editors: Dr Paul Mensah; Dr Kwesi Bentum, Accra, Ghana: Buck Press Ltd, 2017, ISBN 978-9988-2-7402-3.

## Notable alumni

* Thomas O. Mensah
* Opoku Ware II
* Head of State: Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa
* Scientists: Ave Kludze, Thomas Mensah, Nii Quaynor
* Speakers of Parliament: Rt.Hon Jacob Hackenburg Griffiths-Randolph, Rt.Hon Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes
* Chief Justices: Justice George Kingsley Acquah, Justice Philip Edward Archer, Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu and Justice Robert John Hayfron-Benjamin(Botswana)
* Supreme Court judges: Justice Koi Larbi, Justice Henry K. Prempeh, Justice Charles Hayfron-Benjamin and Justice Anselmus Kludze
* Attorney-Generals of Ghana: Edward Nathaniel Moore, Godfred Yeboah Dame

## Recent awards

* Winners of the 2016 edition (and runners up on four other occasions) of the National Science and Maths Quiz
* Winners of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 editions of the National Hockey Championship / Citizens International Inter-Schools (CIIS) Hockey fiesta.
* Winners of 2021 National Robotics Championship.