Corporate partnership revitalises life at oldest nursery school

A collaborative partnership among Agridev Real Estate Limited, Clubhouse Ghana Limited and Fairllop Property Developers Limited, has changed the face of the aging Queen Elizabeth II Educational Foundation, known to be the first nursery school to be established in Ghana.

The three institutions, on Monday, handed over refurbished school infrastructure and equipment worth some Ghc 220,000.00 to authorities of the 76-year-old early childhood learning institution, bringing relief and joy to the pupils, staff and the school administration.

Queen Elizabeth II Educational Foundation is a private community school established in 1950 when Lady Arden-Clarke, wife of the last Governor of the then Gold Coast, Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke, led philanthropists to build an educational facility for children, known at the time, as the Accra Day Nursery.

The Accra Day Nursery, the very first of its kind in the Gold Coast, was then entrusted to the local community under the leadership of the Gbese people on whose land the institution was located. The school’s name changed to ‘Queen Elizabeth II Educational Foundation’ in 1961, when the British monarch, accompanied by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, paid a historic visit to children at the school.

Operating just a crèche and a kindergarten in its prime years, the school is said to have enrolled a large number of children of notable individuals as well as children of successful traders at the Makola Market nearby.

Over the years, the school advanced from its purely nursery status and went into the full stretch of primary and basic education, serving mostly families in the Gbese community, children and dependents of Makola traders.

In recent years however, facilities at this pioneering school, particularly at the nursery department which currently caters for over 150 pupils, has become completely dilapidated, mainly due to the lack of financial and logistical support.

In February 2024, Club House Ghana Limited joined forces with the Accra Financial Centre (AFC) in a timely intervention which saw the refurbishing of the school’s main Crèche and Nursery building, refitting all wrecked equipment and introducing new educational and sanitary facilities for the school.

This time around, the trio pooled resources since September last year, and literally transformed a non-functional kindergarten infrastructure into a modern haven for early childhood learning. They refurbished and equipped two classrooms which served two streams of kindergarten pupils, totalling 60; repaired and retooled toilets and washroom, and added on modern essential facilities such as a school kitchen, a canteen, and a sick bay. The project is estimated to cost about Ghc 220,000.00.

“It was unfinished business when we gave a facelift to the crèche and nursery department of the school two years ago…. So we came back to help. The children are an important and adorable part of our community and we are happy to make an impact on their development,” Ms. Madalene Smit, Portfolio Executive Manager at Broll Ghana Ltd, told newsmen after cutting the ribbon to hand over the project to school authorities.

The Headmaster, Mr. Mershak Annan expressed the gratitude and appreciation of the teaching staff, the administration and the pupils for the kindness and dedication of the three institutions towards the school.

“I have always maintained that nursery education is the bedrock of education in general so we must do everything we can to build a sound foundation to support our basic schools,” said the headmaster, adding “Today, we are very excited and most grateful, especially for the thoughtful addition of important facilities which we didn’t have before, like a kitchen, a furnished canteen, and a sick bay. We are happy…. But like Oliver Twist, we cannot stop asking for more. We would be happy if our benefactors could consider building us a children’s playground next time.”

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