Government Secondary School, Afikpo (GSSA) is a boys'

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

located in

Afikpo Ehugbo often referred to as Afikpo, is the second largest urban area in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Afikpo North Local Government Area. It is situated in the southern part of Ebonyi State and is bordered to the north by ...

, a town in

Ebonyi State Ebonyi () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by Benue State, Enugu State to the west, Cross River State to the east and southeast, and Abia Stat ...

in the former Eastern Region of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, the part of Nigeria that attempted to secede as the independent state of

Biafra Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...

in the late 1960s. The

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

was Nigeria's ultimately successful attempt to reintegrate Biafra forcibly into the larger Nigerian polity. GSSA was one of the best of the antebellum “leadership academies” of Nigeria until the war and its aftermath.

History

GSSA was established in 1952 by Charles W. Low. The first Principal was Charles W. Low, an Australian. The Present principal is Hon. Ogbonnia Nwachi.

Academics

GSSA was established as an elitist school. The school has continued to be one of the best

s in

. All students are required to complete a number of core courses in the arts and sciences. Its students constantly achieved high scores in examination results at SSCE, O-Level and

A-Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

Sports and extra-curricular activities

Students of the school also participate in athletics and sports like, cricket, hockey, handball, basketball and football (soccer). The school also has an

Officer Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

that offers instruction in adventure training, camping and field drills.

School houses

The various houses to which students are assigned upon admission are: *Afikpo House *Akabuogu House *Charles Low House *Ibiam House *Ibi Mboto House *Niger House *Okpara House *Ramat House *School House

Notable alumni

Chinweizu Chinweizu Ibekwe (born 26 March 1943), known mononymously as Chinweizu,R. Victoria Arana"Chinweizu (1943–)" ''The Facts on File Companion to World Poetry: 1900 to the Present'', Facts On File, Inc., 2008, p. 102. and also by the pen-name Maazi ...

pan-African Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Okwui Enwezor Okwui Enwezor (23 October 1963 – 15 March 2019) was a Nigerian curator, art critic, writer, poet, and educator, specializing in art history. Enwezor served as artistic director of several major exhibitions, including Documenta11 (2002) and th ...

, curator, scholar. * Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Ewa (Lorenzo), 1985 set. naval officer based in Lagos * Emmanuel Isu, formal gubernatorial aspirant Ebonyi state * Anyaoha Samuel Ndubuisi, 1999 set Communication Engineer; Standards Organisation of Nigeria * John Nwangwu, public health doctor * Ikenna Okike (CIPD) class of 1999, renowned UK trained human capital development specialist *

Iké Udé Iké Udé (born 1964) is a Nigerian-American photographer, performance artist, author, and publisher based in New York City, United States. Early life and education Udé was born in 1964 in Makurdi, Nigeria where he was raised. The eldest son o ...

, photographer, performance artist, author and publisher *

Dave Umahi David Nweze Umahi (born 25 July 1963) is a Nigerian politician who serves as the minister of works of Nigeria. He previously served as the senator representing Ebonyi South senatorial district from June to August 2023, and as the governor of E ...

, politician * Justice Oko Orji (DJ Slam), 1998 set - Marine Engineer, Naval Officer (Nigerian Navy)

External links

GSSA Alumni Association Website

References

{{coord missing, Nigeria Secondary schools in Nigeria Boys' schools in Nigeria Education in Ebonyi State Educational institutions established in 1952 1952 establishments in Nigeria Government schools in Nigeria