GIS set to commemorate 70 years of excellence in international education offerings

By Ernest Bako WUBONTO

Ghana International School (GIS) is set to celebrate its 70th anniversary on September 1, 2025 with series of activities to highlight the successes chalked, and clear some myths surrounding the school.

This platinum jubilee, which is to be commemorated under the theme ‘Honour the past, celebrate the present, embrace the future’, will highlight how the school was established in September 1955 as Gold Coast International School, before Ghana’s independence.

It will also chronicle how GIS has evolved from a pioneering institution into Africa’s premier international school, achieving groundbreaking accreditations and sending graduates to world-class universities, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, York University, University of Ghana and Ashesi University, among many others.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIS, Dr. Mary Ashun, in her remarks at a press launch, emphasised that GIS’s platinum jubilee represents more than institutional longevity, but a story of African educational ambition, international excellence and the power of visionary thinking.

She revealed the innovative and forward-thinking strategic vision behind the institute’s continuous excellence, positioning the school as the first to demonstrate practical digital learning in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Stressing that in an era of global education challenges, GIS demonstrates how African institutions can achieve world-class standards while maintaining cultural identity and local relevance.

Achievements

With Ghana holding the distinction of being the first sub-Saharan African (SSA) country to gain independence, GIS stands as one of Africa’s earliest international schools, established to provide international education to students of all races and creeds.

It is also recognised as a pioneering multi-racial, non-sectarian education at a time when this was revolutionary worldwide.

GIS remains the first and only international school in Ghana to be accredited by both the Council of International Schools (CIS) in 2007 and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). It’s also a member of prestigious international networks: the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA) and the Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS).

In terms of students’ performance, Dr. Ashun highlighted that GIS students consistently excel in international examinations, year-on-year.

This year, one of its students set an international record by taking on 11 subjects instead of the usual nine and ended up achieving 11 A-stars (95 percent and above) throughout the IGCSE exams in 2025. This feat, she basically described as unprecedented worldwide.

Dr. Ashun highlighted the school’s 100 percent university acceptance rate: “Every graduate who applies gains admission to higher education.”

Significant events

In 2018, the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad, visited GIS to congratulate two student brothers, Kwabena and Ekow Enti, who organised a fundraiser to provide football boots to needy children.

Royal recognition, in November 2018, Queen Consort Camilla launched the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition for the first time outside Buckingham Palace at GIS in Ghana.

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka spent days engaging with students, while esteemed African writer and activist Dr. Auma Obama held sessions with students.

Giving back to the local educational ecosystem

The CEO indicated that over the years, GIS has been giving back to society through various means, especially by providing teaching and learning resources to schools within its catchment area.

Additionally, the school has instituted its flagship TIME Conference to equip about 500 teachers from across the country with 21st-century best teaching and learning models for effective impact.

GIS’s Science Outreach Programme opens the school’s laboratories to public schools to gain access to the lab for practical lessons at no cost.

It also has an annual funding support for the Ghana Heart Foundation to facilitate surgical operations on children with heart issues.

Upcoming 70th anniversary celebrations

The activities lined up for the commemoration include a cake-cutting gathering with the school’s first ever ceremonial print on September 1, 2025, a coffee table book documenting school history and a documentary premiere at Silverbird Theatre on September 2, 2025.

Alumni connect and act of community service, both in and out of the school’s campuses, and a sporting tournament with barbecue to climax.

Dr. Ashun reiterated that GIS is committed to providing world-class international education to the Ghanaian public in the best environment possible, with state-of-the-art technology to provide leaders in all sectors who can compete on the global stage.

“Education is the key to producing tolerant citizens who will understand each other’s culture and resolve conflicts around the continent and the world over. At a time when the world is facing wars, poverty and inequality, GIS continues to demonstrate that an African institution can be world-class,” she emphasised.

GIS calls on the general public to throng the Silverbird Cinema, Accra Mall, on September 2, 2025 to witness the documentary telling its remarkable history of seven decades.

The post GIS set to commemorate 70 years of excellence in international education offerings appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story