Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Harbour Road, Port Harcourt is an all girls college located in old Port Harcourt Township with the Wesley Methodist Church sitting visibly in one of the gates leading to the school blocks
GGSS Harbour now Methodist Girls Secondary School was known for distinguished intellectual capacity, and its popularity in the act of prowess was remarkable hence its nick name” Agaracha” by residents of the city.
In an interview with Ibinabo Ogolo, Secretary General of the Old Girls Association ,Anne Maclayton ( nee Akpanah) member of the pioneer set of 1971, now a retired nurse, spoke extensively on how the school derived the name, Agaracha and her experience with education after the Nigerian civil war.
Here is her story….
How were you admitted into the school?
I came in after the Nigerian Civil War from Holy Rosary Girls School and finished in 1971. I was a bit stubborn then, I hate cheating so I fought physically when there was need to defend my point. That led to my expulsion from Holy Rosary.
- How was the school when you came in?
It was a war-torn school then, like people that came up (in) from war-torn areas were in that school. I joined girls that came from Biafra and we were called “Agaracha girls”, (meaning people who went and came back). It was really rough then. The girls were ‘hard’ girls compared to other schools like ACMGS and Holy Rosary. So even when we met they looked at us as “hard” girls . I was an athlete then, I did Sprint – 100 metres, 200 metres and 100×4 relay race. I was made the Dinning Hall/ Sports Prefect.
- What kind of teachers did you meet there ? Did they inspire you?
We had good teachers that finished from Secondary schools to teach and also dedicated university trained teachers.
The ‘rough’ girls were very serious with their studies. We had brilliant girls. Our principal, Mrs Ngo Ogan was sound, dedicated and a disciplinarian.
She liked fashion. She taught us to dress well. We wore smart short skirts above the knee, you cannot wear your skirt below the knee, she was really fashionable. With her, we made very good results. My classmates were Esther Obowo (Anucha) Teba Allwell Brown, Nahomey Sobebo, Soba Wilcox, Martha Bonnie and Mabel Atako. These were well grounded girls, when there was no teacher around, they taught us in class.
- As one of the pioneer students, what were your experiences and how did you overcome challenges ?
There was a problem then in the school. As the Dinning Hall Prefect, we had the capacity to see whatever good items that were delivered to the kitchen before cooking. We found out that one of the contractors served us iced fish. So I started a riot against the supply of iced fish. There was a big up-roar in the school. The ring leaders were suspended and I was one of them. However, after that incident, they diverted to supplying us real fish.
Also, by 5:30am on sports days, we went out for sports. There was discipline and respect for seniors. School was enjoyable. We had outing days. We always moved in groups to protect one another. We visited Leventis stores, Kingsway and life was good.
The school did well in sports. We won laurels for the school. We had our Interhouse Sports competitions at Stella Maris College School field.
Any other significant experience or inspiration?
Our set was the first to take the School Certificate Examination. After the war, things were not streamlined. The ministry was gradually set up but we never lacked teachers, there was no foreigner then. We had our gateman, we didn’t have security problems. If you want to go out, you must show your papers. We had a wonderful matron then, she listened to us, took care of our needs, if there was a problem, she reported to the Principal, students loved her. We had a sickbay. Our Principal made sure that we never spoke our native dialect so we didn’t know where each one came from. Also, no “Pigin” English, if you speak, you get punished.
Actually, before we passed out, our Principal really inspired us to know what we wanted after secondary school. She encouraged us not to be intimidated, We should go for what we want.We should dress well and be fashionable. When a man approaches you, you know whether you want him or not, so tell him yes or no. Don’t say, I will think about it. Say the answer immediately. The teachers too inspired us. They really pampered us. They made sure that we got the best. My best subject then was Literature.
