About The School

Mfantsiman Girls’ Senior High School was formerly known as Saltpond Girls’ Secondary School.  The name was later changed to Mfantsiman Girls’ Secondary School, Saltpond when the District of Saltpond became the District of Mfantsiman. Currently, the school is known as Mfantsiman Girls’ SHS, following the introduction of the new educational programme and setup the country is now following in providing education.

The school was founded by the late Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, President of the First Republic of Ghana as a special gesture of appreciation to the people of Saltpond for the part the town played in the political history of the country. His objective was to provide a holistic and high-quality education to empower girls to become self-confident and independent women who could make valuable contribution to society.

A group of prominent persons were selected to choose the site for the School, and this team included: Mr. Kojo Botsio – Minister of Education, Mr. Kofi Baako – Member of Parliament of Saltpond, Mr. George Padmore- West Indian Pan-Africanist, Dr. Hastings Banda- President of the Republic of Malawi, and Mr. S.E. Arthur – Member of the School Board of Governors. The area where the school is situated used to be called Kuntupow, the bedrock of the great Fantse Warriors and warlords Obrumankoma, Odapagyan, and Oson of the Fanti Confederacy.

Constructional work of the school thus began in 1958 on a land size measuring 430.10 acres. Part of the first phase consisted of the Administration Block, Classroom Block, Science Block, Dining Hall, one teacher’s bungalow and the headmistress’s bungalow were completed in September 1960.

On 23 September 1960, students were selected through the late Entrance Examination and interviews, and on 30 September 1960, the school was made one of the Ghana Education Trust (GET) schools and opened its doors to its first students comprising of a batch of seventy (70) girls, and four (4) teachers including the Headmistress.

The education offered at the school provided comprehensive academic, vocational and character training. The basis on which well- rounded girls could develop strong and effective leadership and communication, encompassing skills to impact their society. The school, therefore, followed the General Certification of Education Examination for both the Ordinary Level and the Advanced level where academic potentials were awarded certificates to pursue further and higher education.

Initially, there was a lack of interest for the girls to take up science subjects to both ordinary and advanced levels Examinations; so, between September 1969 and June 1976, boys were admitted to the 6th Form to take up science as subjects at advanced level. In September 1977, just over six and half years, the girls took up the challenge and all changed. Mfantsiman Girls’ Secondary School, currently Mfantsiman Girls’ Senior High School is now truly an all-girls school which has since its inception, turned out over 20,000 to 30,000 old students (including 18 Boys) with the GCE O’ Level, GCE A ‘ level and the Senior Secondary School Certificates (SSSCE) Examinations.

Most of the products of the school have gone on to become prominent members of society and serve as Member of Parliament, Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Head teachers, Authors, Bankers, Civil Engineers, Lawyers, Judges, Senior Civil Servants, Scientists, Social workers, Pharmacists, Lecturers, Self- employed entrepreneurs, Preachers, and many other successful roles within society.

The first two dormitory blocks Chinery and Butler Houses (named respectively after the Headmistress and the Assistant Headmistress at the time – a tradition that was continued by their successors) were completed in 1961, and the students moved from their temporary top Classroom Block dormitories to take up occupancy.  There were 140 students at the time.  More infrastructure and dormitories have been added in recent years to accommodate the oversubscribed demands of the students’ body. A new and state of the art Assembly Hall was completed for use during the earliest years of the millennium. A modern information technology and picturesque library building is fervently under construction by Old Students of Mfantsiman (MOGANS.) 

During the School’s 60th (Diamond Jubilee) Anniversary in the year of the Lord 2020, The 1989 Year Group MOGA 89, (i.e. the students who completed O’ levels in 1989) built a prominent gate entrance for the school, captioned the “The Monumental Entrance Gate project” to commemorate the occasion. It was also their way of giving back graciously to their Alma Mater, that has contributed to shaping them to become the well-rounded ladies of character in their societies/communities.

The school uniform was green in colour but was later changed to the mauve, used alongside the brown coloured prints to this day. The red, green, blue, and yellow floral print dresses were used as house dresses with check gingham up until now. In the late 70′ to the late 80’s, students used their own mufti dresses on campus alongside the limited supply of prints that were either handed down to new students if lucky enough, or to have procured from the school’s book shop with the student’s order book. 

The reason was that there were a lot of turbulence in the economic situation in the whole country at the time; students’ bursary from the government were not coming through as expected. The political fabric of the nation had been ripped, and power was in the hands of The PNDC Government. Nothing could be found on the market, groceries for students were lacking and schools relying on public services suffered. The leadership of the school changed hands over time when the economic situation was stabilised, and the pieces were picked together under the leadership of the then Headmistress, Mrs Mary Asiedu nèe Ms Mary Abubakarr. She steered the ship to dock, thus improving circumstances in the life of the students and teaching staff and general amenities on campus as a whole. 

During her tenure of office, the school celebrated its Silver Jubilee ( 25 years in education and existence). The headmistress’ invited the composer of the school’s great ODE, the late Mr Kojo Mason to teach the whole of the students’ body and teaching staff the song. The Ode was played by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation through the months preceding to the silver jubilee celebrations. It was joyful to hear the melodious voices of the girls of Mfantsiman belting the school’s Ode: “Obra Nye Woara Bo” from the radio in the teachers’ common room on the administration block. The prefects normally had the pleasure of listening to this being played as they went for class registers, chalk, and marked books from the office. The song, “Alma Mater: You are the source of discipline,” was also penned and taught by the late Mr Kojo Mason, a Founding member. Towards the end of 1988, Mrs Mary Asiedu, laid down her teaching tools to accept an HR position at Unilever Ghana Ltd Accra. 

The old students of Mfantsiman Girls’ knew too well that they wanted an old girl to steer and champion affairs at the school.  Giving the stamp and authorisation of the Ghana Education Service, the powers were vested in the late Mrs. Elizabeth Croffie, a pioneer (MOGA 65) to succeed Mrs Asiedu.  Mrs Croffie revived speech and prize giving day in November 1988, and introduced the family and Thanksgiving Service which have been imbibed in the history, values, and traditions of Mfantsiman Girls’ to this day.

Mrs Elizabeth Croffie over saw the school’s 40th anniversary to the Golden Jubilee celebrations. A controversy erupted when she built her sculptured bust and positioned it at the entrance to the administration block and named a dormitory block after herself- a tradition normally called into place by old students and the headmistress’ successor. Her reign lasted over a decade and a bit until asked to step down by the Education Service.

After Mrs. Croffie’s tenure, headship has been under the auspices of Mrs Wilson and Mrs Phyllis Atta- Simpson who successfully completed their tenure into retirement. The baton has now been passed down to Ms Rosaline Sowah, an old student and a member of the MOGA 1989 Year Group. Ms Sowah took over her appointment in September 2023 and on the 24th of November 2023, her induction ceremony was beautifully and succinctly conducted by the Very Rev’d Jeremiah Morrison who was once a Chaplain at the school when Rosaline was a student.

To The Glory of God, the foundation stone that was laid by the Founding Fathers, upon which Mfantsiman Girls’ Senior High School was built, continues to be a Shrine of Knowledge, a Light of devotion, a Guardian of an Altar that shows resilience, and a Beacon whose lights must never die.