Gayaza High School

Gayaza High School
Location
Gayaza, Wakiso District, Uganda
Information
Type	Public Middle School and High School
Motto	Never Give Up
Established	1905
Faculty	67
Number of students	1,100
Athletics	Major sports: Cricket, Track, Netball, Volleyball, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Hockey.
Website	Homepage

Gayaza High School is an all-girls boarding school covering grades 8 -13 in Uganda. It is the oldest girls' school in the country.

Location

The school is located in the town of Gayaza, in Wakiso District, approximately 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The school grounds cover an area of 140 acres (0.57 km²) on a hilltop, running roughly south to north. It is bounded on the north by Makerere University Farm at Kabanyolo and on the west by smallholdings and the Gayaza - Namulonge road. The area between the school farm and the road from Kampala to Kalagi, Mukono, Uganda comprises a swamp and more smallholdings. Gayaza High School lies immediately north of a small settlement known as Gayaza Market. At this point, the main road from Kampala forks; one road leading to Kalagi in Mukono District and the other to Namulonge Agricultural and Animal Research Institute (NAARI). The lane between them leading up to the school, past the primary day schools and the parish church, is a cul de sac, which accounts for the school's relative security in times of trouble. The coordinates of the school are: 0 27 35N; 32 36 40E.

History

Christian missionaries belonging to the Church Missionary Society of England founded Gayaza High School in January 1905 with four students. By July 1905, the number of students had grown to 43.

The land was donated to the Church then by Kabaka Chwa II.

The purpose was to train girls, especially the daughters of chiefs of the Buganda Kingdom, in those skills that would make them better wives. This was the only basis of security approval from the traditional and traditionalist leaders of that time. The founders however had a different motive: to educate girls based on a strong Christian foundation. They realized that the best way of entrenching Christianity was by having Christian mothers under whom children spent all their formative years.

In the beginning, the curriculum included agriculture, handiwork, child-care and needlework, as well as scripture, reading, writing, arithmetic and geography. Academic excellence and social excellence are traditions in Gayaza High School. It is therefore not surprising that the school is one of the most sought after high schools in Uganda. In 2003, Gayaza High School was selected as the 60th best high school in Africa.

Originally, any girl, as long as she was a daughter of a chief, that is Buganda Kingdom, was admitted to Gayaza. Later, even those from rich families were able to enter the school. Eventually the system changed further so that one had to pass both their oral and written examinations to get into Gayaza. Today this is still the practice.

Student Residences

The student dormitories are named after prominent Ugandans or after past administrators at the school:

• Corby House
• Hutchinson House
• Kennedy House
• Cox House
• Sherborne House
• Mary Stuart House
• Ham Mukasa House
• Apollo Kivebulaya House
• Rhoda Nsibambi House

The last house is named after the late Rhoda Nsibambi, former wife to the Prime Minister of Uganda, Apollo Nsibambi. She was an alumnus of the school.

• Elizabeth Bagaaya - Princess, Lawyer, Diplomat, Politician, Model
• Lady Justice Julia Sebutinde - Presiding Judge, Courtroom II, International Criminal Court, the Hauge, Netherlands

Lady Damali Catherine Nnakawombe Kisosonkole, wife of Kabaka, Sir Edward Muteesa II of Buganda Kingdom. She was an activist for human rights under the British colonial rule.

External links

• Gayaza is the Oldest Girls School in Uganda

See also

• Education in Uganda