The Albert Academy (AA) is a

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 ...

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, 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, e ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. The school's motto is ''Esse Quam Vederi'' (Rather to be than to Seem). It is situated at Berry Street in Freetown. 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 Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

, 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, school A school is the educati ...

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 (also spelled Shengge) 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 ju ...

, 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

Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean physician 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 to 196 ...

, led Sierra Leone to independence and became prime minister from 1961 to 1964 *

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 from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was often characterized by patrimonial ...

, First President of Sierra Leone *

John Karefa-Smart John Albert Musselman Karefa-Smart (17 June 1915 – 26 August 2010) was a Sierra Leonean politician, medical doctor and university professor. He served as the first Foreign Minister under Sierra Leone's first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Marga ...

, doctor and politician *

Abdulai Conteh Abdulai Osman Conteh (5 August 1945 – 2 August 2024) was a Sierra Leonean lawyer and politician. He was a Vice-President of Sierra Leone, who served under President Joseph Saidu Momoh before he was ousted by the military junta in 1992. Cont ...

, former Attorney General and Vice President * Isaac Lebbie, Minister Of Information and Civic Education of Africa web.

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 Christian schools in Sierra Leone {{SierraLeone-school-stub