The first three houses to be built
were Ramseyer (named after the Founder of Presbyterianism in Ashanti because The Presbyterian Church is a co-stakeholder), Butler (after the
British Chief Commissioner in Ashanti), and Freeman (named by the Methodist Church after the father of Methodism in
Ashanti). The next five houses built in the order were: Serwah (named after Nana Ama Serwah,
the Queen-mother of Dwaben--Ashanti), Pearson (after the first Headmaster of the school),
Aggrey (after the great Ghanaian scholar), Guggisberg, appropriately refered to as "G'berg"
(after the British Governor of the then Gold Coast) and Osei Tutu, popularly refered to as
"The White House" (bearing the immortal name of King Osei Tutu, founder of the Ashanti
Kingdom). Osei Tutu was the only house to be designed and built by a Ghanaian contractor.
Each of the Houses has a motto. Ohemaa Ama Serwah House has the motto, Vel Primus Velcum Primus (Be first or be among the first). Aggrey's motto is
Solum Optimum Satis (Only the Best is good enough). Ramseyer, the first House, goes by the motto, Vouloir C'est Pouvoir (This is Power!). Imagine going to a campus and the first sign you
see is "Here is the Power." It is so pwerful and abnormal, isn't it? That is the beauty of the first boarding House to be built in the Northern sector of Ghana. These are liitle things people ordinarily take for granted: there
is some powerful sunsum (spirit) at the school. Our founding fathers were visionaries! Just think about it: "Here, we have the power!" What is this power? Is it knowledge?
G'bergians live by the motto
Primus Inter Pares (First Among the Equals) while Osei Tutu has the much envied motto Susu Biribi (Man must be thoughtful, respectful and
give thought to worthwhile deeds). Pearson has the motto Dwen hwe Kan (Think ahead) while Butler goes by Ellis Esse Lux (Let there be light). Freeman is the only House to have a change of motto over the years.
In her glory days, Freeman's motto was Forward Ever. Readers will soon learn how germane and appropriate this motto was to Freeman in her good old days. It was later changed to the current Unity Plus Hardwork.
Serwah House
Was Serwah House meant to house girls hence the name and location? That is what the story is on Prempeh campus over the years. But Reverend Pearson says the answer is a big NO!
Serwah House was never intended to house girls. The founding fathers intended to make the school an all-boys institution from the beginning.
The House was named after Dwabenhemaa Nana Ama Serwah for her tenacity in Asanteman at that time. The location of the house was just merely an architectural choice and had nothing to do with protecting female students from male predators.
Completed and opened in 1953, Serwah House won the Inter-House Singing Competition for 5 consecutive years (1957-62) and won the Inter-House Cross Country Competition for five straight
years (1962-67). The tallest of all the Houses, Serwah's Common Room is a place that attracts all sorts of uneccessary arguments and anti-socials from all walks of life. This comes as no surprise considering it's location. It could be more appropriately described as "The Gateway
to the City." Ghana's greatest runner of all time, Stanley Allotey, is a product of this great House.
Serwah is known for her famous Housemaster, Mr. Raymond "Functions" Poku, also known as Masta Fa. The Mathematics luminary, Mastafa made so
many ridiculous rules in the 80s cheif among which was the restriction of Serwah residents to one toilet visit per day.
This was because he believed the students of this particular house ate so much and spent a lot of time defecating in lieu of studying. Yes, this man actually
monitored the students' toilet visits in the House bathroom.
Mastafa is one teacher who used "Mmo ho" (kneeling down) as punishment for students.
He used to get students to escort him to his bungallow because he was scared on the way in the night, and on arrival he would ask
the student to kneel down in front of his house, often forgetting that the poor victim was out there.
Further, he used to interfere with parental visits by approaching parents on weekends and telling them how dumb and unruly their wards were.
Aggrey is easily recognized as the House that never performs well in sports. In fact, saying Aggrey ever was productive in sports will be doing them a great justice. However, led by a future Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Aggrey House won the inter-House
cricket for 5 successive years (1962-67). The hard hitting of Dufuor and K.A
Gyarteng enabled Prempeh beat Ghana Sec Tech of Takoradi and qualified for the
finals. A Dufuor-led Aggrey hockey team placed 3rd in the Inter-House. Dufuor, Adu
and Lartey excelled themselves. Dufuor made the school team.
Aggrey House
Students from the 1970s surely still remember the Aggrey House K. Lomo phenomenon. Kenneth Lomo of Aggrey House came to Prempeh Sixth Form from Tema Secondary School in 1978.
Rumours quickly spread that Wofa K could clock the hundred 100 meters in 10.6 secs.
Since Aggrey House never perform well in Sports, the news was very refreshing to them.
The only person who didn't want to hear of K. Lomo as the best sprinter
was Senior Christopher Graham (Olele) who was the then best sprinter of Sofoline. Everybody expected Wofa K Lomo to make an impact. One thing led to the other and Wofa K.
practised late at night with a lantern or a torch light. The secrecy was so serious, no one
knew how good Wofa K was but Aggrey House told everyone to wait until the
Inter-House Atletics. People surely saw Wofa K, he took an early lead for the first 10
yards and was quickly out-paced by the top contenders like Asway, and Sandy, etc.
Once he noticed that his chances of even making the 7th position was in doubt, he faked a
muscle pull and went to the side lines. It was shameful, the biggest joke on campus. You
had to see this! It was very funny; this guy was 5'4" with such a presence on the tracks.
He faked it all for attention. From that day on, any act of running,
whether in a film or at Kajetia, was known as K. LOMO.
Aggrey House newspaper, The Eagle Announcer, was the most renowned House paper in
those days.
Pearson - The Gentlemen's House - is indeed a very progressive House. Pearson House could be dubbed "where Kings have
trod!" This house has produced many of the men who make up our nation's much revered Chieftancy institution.
Kuntunkununku II slept here. Kumawuhene Asumadu Sakyi slept here. The Akyempemhene of Akyem also
was in Pearson. Further, some of the world's best physicians came from this famous
house. A brilliant medical mind from Pearson - Dr. Asafu-Adjei - is the CEO of the Komfo Anokye Teaching
Hospital in Kumasi, one of Ghana's two major Comprehensive Teaching Hospitals.
Pearson House athletics squad - 1988
The team that performed the first heart transplant operation in
Chechoslovakia, which took place at the Bratislava Hospital in
1968, included a Prempeh College Old Boy, Alex Fredua
Agyemang. Alex was then a medical student on top of his class at the
prestigious Charles University Medical School, and thus was
also the first student to perform sugery in Chechoslovakia! Even
more noteworthy is the fact that he accomplished this feat only 7
years after leaving Pearson House. Alex went on to become the Akyem King Osagyefuo Kuntunkununku II.
Further, Dr. Kweku Ghartey of Pearson House Class of '62 is a renowned retinal surgeon at the Massachusetts General
Hospital. He is considered by his peers to be Number 1 in his field! Several cases from around the world are
transferred to him every year.
Pearson has also produced many great Mathematicians and sportsmen.
Pearson set a record in 1968 by winning the hockey final (led by Mark Addo and Lamptey);
Table Tennis (comprising Magnus Sandyson, Asante A.K and Sefa Boachie); the Athletics
Championship; The Tokyo Shielld; The Tract Cup and the Football Championship. In form
3, the first 8 positions were taken by Pearson boys while a majority of the A-level prizes
went to Pearsonians. In the same year, Pearson was the first house to introduce the concept
of democracy to Prempeh. They were the first House to have a very well-organized House
Council. Each form elected one member to represent it on this council and whenever they
met, it was democracy at its best. Mr. R.T Sackey was their Asst. Headmaster then. Sackey
will go on to become the Headmaster of Prempeh College in '85. The population of Pearson
during that year was 90.
1970: Some students of Pearson House putting
their flower-beds in good shape for the end of term Gardening competition
In 1959 Inter-House Athletics, Pearson House had no one to jump the pole vault. They
were on the verge of forfeiting the precious points from the event when young Alex Fredua
Agyemang stepped unto the field and grabbed the stick. He jumped for the first time and
won the event and the tournament for Pearson. Alex will later go on to become the Akyem
King Kuntunkununku II.
And there was an expatriate Housemaster of PEARSON who was
nicknamed "PONKO ABODAM" (CRAZY HORSE)! The story has it that Mr. Anderson, a Scottish, one
day bought a coffin. He then informed his Ghanaian tutor friend that he had bought a fine
African furniture. The friend then went to see the furniture, only to find the Housemaster
relaxedly lying in a coffin. It was unbelievable! A living being resting in a coffin? This man from then on spent most of his
free time in the coffin. Ironically, he was the only expatriate teacher to die on Prempeh campus. He was placed in
one of his favourite coffins and shipped back to Scotland.
That a gravesite exist at the back of Pearson House is only a myth. The only person who
died purchased his own coffin for him to be shipped effectively to Scotland!
Could Pearson be the Greatest House?
OT House
Osei Tutu, "The Neat House," won the famous Efficiency Cup (the trophy awarded for terminal inter-house neatness inspection) every term for 5
successive years (1962-67). Osei Tutu was home to The Cappe Coast University Chancellor, Professor S.K. Adjepong and Headmaster E.A. Afoakwa, as well
as the Akyempemhene of Asante, Nana Oheneba Adusei Popku. They also hold the school's 4 X 100 meter relay record.
Like Aggrey, Osei Tutu also had a newspaper in the old days - The Voice.
G'berg House is most popular for her footballing skills. Even the 1987 Kumasi Cornerstones FC that won the WAFU (West African Football Union) Cup featured a
Prempeh College boy from G'berg House - Senior Attakora (Shanton). Nana Akyena Kwagyan Nuama V, Asuonwunhene, is also a product of G'berg House.
Ramseyer House has produced the fewest number of Senior Prefects at Prempeh. They had the longest draught in School Prefectship: they went decades without producing a single soul as S.P of The Great Prempeh College.
However, for the past two decades, Ramseyer has dominated the inter-house table tennis championships. If Ramseyer wins the title one more time, we may have to report them to the Monopolies Commission! The First House is
also noted for producing great sprinters.
Mr. J.A. Kufuor's home was Butler House. Mr. Edward Boateng, CNN's Regional Director for Europe also came from Butler. Butler House, like Pearson has produced some brilliant Mathematicians and sportsmen. Butler always battled
Freeman and Pearson for school honours in hockey, football and athletics.
1971 Freeman Athletics Champions
Sports was all Freeman in the 1960s. Powerful Freeman won the Annual Inter-House Competition for 4 years running, setting 7
records. Owusu-Mensah won the 100, 220, and 440 yds with all new records.
Freeman athletes dominated the school team that won the Presidential shield in Accra for 3
consecutive years. The period saw the reign of several renowned national athletes, including Senior S. Owusu Mensah.
Those athletes were of international repute and before any race, the
inferiority complex effect (I.C.E) alone defeated
opponents.
Owusu Mensah with his Osagyefo's Golden Boy Shield
They represented Ghana in the
Commonwealth Games and in the Olympics. In
appreciation of the sterling qualities as a great
athlete, Ghana's President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
despatched Mr. Ohene Djan, the then director
of Sports to the school in 1965 to present Freeman's
Owusu-Mensah with the accolade
"Osagyefo's Golden Boy." The President also caused a Radio Ghana Commentary to be focussed on Prempeh College in praise of Owusu Mensah, Osagyefo's Golden Boy.
They also dominated lawn tennis with the Ahwoi brothers. Kwesi Ahwoi who was in Form 4 in 1963 won the lawn tennis trophy for Freeman House.
So glorious was Freeman in those days that they even spanked Ramseyer House 8-2 in 1967 inter-house soccer tourney.
In table tennis, Freeman was second to none. Their Ahwoi brothers, and the sensational Nuro, along with Sarrah-Mensah, made up the much favoured school team.
A ninth House, bearing the name of the late King Opoku Ware II was put up as a birthday present for the School's Golden Jubilee. It is currently under construction; it is due to
be completed in three years.
