The Old Princewaleans Association UK and Ireland

We warmly welcome you to the Home Page of the website of the Old Princewaleans Association (OPWA) UK & Ireland Branch, a chapter of the Global Princewaleans Alumni Association.

KEY OBJECTIVE and CONTRIBUTIONS

The OPWA UK & Ireland branch was established in 1985, the first of the global Princewaleans Alumni Associations in the Diaspora.  Its primary objective since its inception is the establishing of conditions that are amenable to effective learning at The Prince Of Wales School, Kingtom in Sierra Leone.

Over the years this branch, either solely or as part of the Global Princewaleans Alumni family,  has made significant contributions to this cause through the provision of teaching aids, laboratory and recreational equipment, establishing of a revolving fund to help address the late payment of staff’s salaries, the award of income subsidy to all staff at Christmas time and the conduction of two baseline studies in 2010, addressing the structural status of the school’s buildings and the quality of its educational provision.

Please see Projects for further details of these interventions – past, current and those in the pipeline.

OUR CURRENT AIM & OBJECTIVES

The new executive for 2011/12 was elected in November 2011.  The details of members of the current executive, as well as that of past Presidents, can be accessed under the About Us section to be found at the bottom of this page.  The aims and objectives of the current executive are summarised below.  A detailed presentation, including updates of progress made so far can be found on the About Us section also.

Aim - The Association will seek to utilise all the relevant skills and capacities that Princewaleans in the UK and Ireland feel able to contribute, building a synergy that will result in the OPWA-UK & Ireland branch effecting an improvement in the quality of education that is provided at our Alma Mater.

Objectives – The Association will strive towards
i) Securing improved contributions from Princewaleans in the UK and Ireland by soliciting their views as to their level and nature of availability as well as their suggestions regarding innovative strategies that the Association can adopt or pursue.

ii) Securing improved means of communication by the association with its members through the greater and effective use of its website and other vehicles of e-communications, including social networking.  This will be driven by the newly constituted E-Coms Committee. 

iii) Pursuing strategies that promote leverage in educational practice and policy in Sierra Leone through:
a)  providing support for the Sierra Leone Diaspora Education Forum - SLEDEF (in the capacity as a “parent” organisation especially during this “interim” period) in conjunction with other alumni associations,
b) seeking funding in our own right as a UK-based charity for supporting specific projects that we have identified,
c) providing leadership in the strategic directions adopted by the Global Princewaleans associations and in making an active contribution to the projects adopted by the global body towards supporting our alma mater.

SCHOLARSHIPS

As a registered Charity, the branch frequently awards hardship scholarships to students to cover school fees and provide basic essentials.  One such recent recipient of our scholarships, Alhaji Janneh, did not only achieve the best West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results in the school in 2010 but also won a tertiary education scholarship in 2011 provided by the philanthropist and celebrated orthopaedic surgeon Mr. Lynton Williams, a Princewalean associated with the Southern Californian Chapter.  Alhaji Janneh started his studies at the Hampton University, USA in January 2012 and is expected to subsequently pursue medicine at Cornell University, USA.  Details of this and similar success stories can be found under the “Projects” section of the “OPWA In Action” page.

LEADING ON CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS

After a successful hosting of the Sixth Annual Conference of the Global Princewaleans Alumni Associations in April 2011, the branch currently holds the chair of most of the global committees and is therefore playing a leading role in implementing the resolutions passed at the conference.  Although details of this conference can be found on the “NEWS” page it is worth highlighting key milestones achieved so far.

• Quality Assurance is being introduced at the school as headline targets for performance at both the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), sat by fourteen year olds at the end of their Junior Secondary School (JSS) phase, and the WASSCE, sat by seventeen/eighteen year olds at the end of their Senior Secondary School (SSS) phase, have being set and approved by the school. Details of this target as well as results of past performance are provided on the “NEWS” page.
• A Roadmap of short-term interventions and outcomes has been drawn up by the Global Education Committee, based on the recommendations of the “Quality of Education Provision” report.  The UK & Ireland Branch’s inputs are presented under the project section of the “OPWA In Action” page, also.
• The establishing and recent successful launch in Freetown of the Sierra Leone Diaspora Education Forum (SLEDEF) UK Branch is another positive outcome of the conference.  The details of the role this branch has played in promoting this umbrella organisation of alumni associations, other affiliated organisations and individuals interested in education in Sierra Leone, is provided on the “NEWS” page of this website.
• Other developments including, the establishing of a global Structural and Maintenance Committee and the proactive approach adopted by the invigorated Global Website Committee, are to be documented on the Global Princewaleans Portal; access the portal through the “LINKS” button at the bottom of this page.

Finally, for details about our monthly meetings see the “About Us” page. Please do not hesitate to support our efforts by making a donation via the donate button situated both at the top or bottom of this page.  Should you have any queries or suggestions, please feel free to get in touch with us by clicking on the “Contact Us” button at the bottom of this page.