The Albert Academy (AA) is a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. The school's motto is ''Esse Quam Vederi'' (Rather to be than to Seem). It is situated at Berry Street in Freetown. Among its alumni are Sierra Leone's first

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, Sir

Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and politician who served as the country's head of government from 1954 until his death in 1964. He was titled chief minister from 1954 ...

and Sierra Leone's first president,

Siaka Stevens Siaka Probyn Stevens (24 August 1905 – 29 May 1988) was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, serving as Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was ofte ...

and Chernor Bah. The school is sometimes referred to as ''Mende Man College'' reflecting the fact that over the years students from the

Mende tribe The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the largest ethnic group at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly larger than the Mende at 31.2%. The Mende are pred ...

in Sierra Leone were overrepresented. AA students have also been referred to as ''Okamory Boys'' due to the area in which the school is located in Freetown. However, the school has students from everywhere in Sierra Leone and it is not restricted to any tribe. Although the school has a Christian tradition, the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

, students from all religious background can attend. It has

alumni association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students (alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools), ...

s in the UK, USA and Freetown. The alumni associations make contributions to the school including, for example, giving scholarships and grants to students.

History

A girls' school had been established in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colony of

Moyamba Moyamba is the capital and largest city of Moyamba District, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. There has been a recorded population of 11,485 in the 2004 census. The city is ethnically diverse, although the Mende people make up the majo ...

in 1900, and it was decided to establish a similar boys' school. The UBC mission was responsible for finding land for the school, and originally proposed locating it in

Shenge Shenge is a coastal fishing town along the Atlantic ocean in Moyamba District, Southern Province, Sierra Leone. Shenge is the seat of the Kagboro Chiefdom, part of the third level of administration. The dense coastal jungle has prevented devel ...

, the home of missionary Ira Albert. Eventually, however, the board decided that Shenge was too small, so they established the school in the colony's capital at

. The Albert Academy was founded on 4 October 1904, and was named after Ira Albert, who had recently been killed in a boating accident. When the academy was founded, it had just one teacher, a Mr L Turner, and four pupils. The first principal was Reverend Raymond P. Dougherty, with Edwin Hursh as vice principal. The original location was in Freetown's East Street. In 1907, the academy relocated to its present location on Berry Street.

Notable alumni

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, lead Sierra Leone to independence and became prime minister from 1961 to 1964 * Siaka Stevens, First Executive President * Dr. Karefa Smart * Dr. Abdulai Conteh former Attorney General and Vice President * Prof. VJV Mambu * Dr Ibrahim Stevens Deputy Governor Central Bank of Sierra Leone

Notes

References

External links

Albert Academy Alumni Association, Washington DC Chapter
Secondary schools in Sierra Leone Schools in Freetown 1904 establishments in Sierra Leone Educational institutions established in 1904 {{SierraLeone-school-stub