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The St Mary’s Senior High School has celebrated its 76th Anniversary Speech and Prize-Giving Day with a call on stakeholders to prioritise digital literacy as the foundation for excellence and responsible citizenship.
The celebrations had the theme: “Cultivating excellence through digital literacy for a purposeful tomorrow: The role of stakeholders.”
The event aimed to reinforce the school’s resolve to prepare young women to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital world.
It was also used to reward some students and staff for outstanding performances and excellence in co-curricular activities.
In her keynote address, the Director of Diversity and International Programmes at the Ashesi University, Dr Millicent Adjei Togoh, herself a former student of the school, challenged stakeholders to treat digital competence as a shared responsibility rather than a personal option.
Students at the 76th speech and prize-giving day
She urged educators, parents and policy makers to guide young people through active engagement rather than resistance to technological change.
That, she said, would position students to compete confidently, innovate responsibly and contribute meaningfully to national and global development.
Dr Togoh stated that the future of education and work would depend heavily on digital competence and the ability to adapt to emerging technologies.
“The future will not wait for us to catch up. It will reward those who prepare intentionally.
Digital literacy is the foundation we must collectively build,” she said.
Dr Togoh also emphasised the need for intentional preparation and ethical conduct in digital spaces, stating that excellence required critical thinking and moral discipline.
She cautioned students about misinformation, data privacy and harmful online behaviour and reminded them that their actions online carry lasting consequences.
For her part, the Headmistress of the school, Philomena Owusu-Ansah, reiterated the school’s commitment to nurturing innovation and technological competence through digital literacy.
She commended the government for supplying tablets to second-year students and also praised the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) for extending internet connectivity to support the digital transition.
Ms Owusu-Ansah then urged stakeholders to build on the progress the school had already achieved, maintaining that deliberate investment and collaboration would sustain both infrastructural growth and digital progress in the school.
She stressed that the move towards a fully functional single-track system must align with strengthened digital capacity and innovation-driven teaching.
Ms Owusu-Ansah stated that overcrowding had strained classrooms and dormitories and had affected the effective integration of technology into teaching and learning.
“Quality education is never an accident. It is always the result of good intention, sincere effort, intelligence, direction and skilful execution,” she said.
Reflecting on the school’s progress over the past year, the headmistress stated that the institution had recorded steady academic improvement and growth in enrolment, reporting that 566 candidates sat the 2025 WASSCE and that 517 candidates passed six subjects or more, representing 91.3 per cent.
“Management and staff have taken note of some challenges which deprived the school of recording 100 per cent in six passes and above and we are doing everything possible to achieve this goal in the 2026 WASSCE,” she said.
Ms Owusu-Ansah announced that the student population had increased to 2,000 and that the boarding population had risen correspondingly.
