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The First Girls at The Prince of Wales Secondary School

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The First Girls at The Prince of Wales Secondary School

The Prince of Wales Secondary School does have Old Girls. In January 1951, two students from the Annie Walsh Memorial School (AWMS) entered the Prince of Wales School Prelim Year. Delphine Macauley deceased with Admission number 1431, Belmont Williams (who became Dr. Belmont Williams) with Admission number 1438. Delphine Macauley and Belmont Williams had passed the Cambridge School Certificate in December 1949. After which they attended the Prince of Wales School for a term in 1951 before being admitted into the Preliminary Year of Fourah Bay College to embark on a new program – GCE in Arts and Science. They were the first girls at the school and in the short period they were at the school, they were involved in the school uniform design that all subsequent girls would wear in the sixth form.

Later that year, and after Delphine and Belmont had gone to Fourah Bay College, three other pupils gained admission to the school, so they never met Delphine and Belmont at the school. They were Olayiwola Akiwumi (who became Mrs. Olayiwola Pabs-Garnon) with Admission number 1498, Moira Cummings (who became Dr. Moira Browne) with Admission number 1499, and Olabisi Fraser (who became Dr. Olabisi Taylor- Lewis, deceased) with Admission number 1500. Moira Cummings, Olayiwola Akiwumi, and Olabisi Fraser had taken and passed their Cambridge School Certificate examinations in December 1950 and were accepted into the Lower Sixth form at the Prince of Wales School. We chose the Prince of Wales School because of the school’s sterling reputation for teaching the sciences. We were the first set of girls to complete the Cambridge Higher School Certificate examinations at the Prince of Wales School. We had also been at the AWMS with Mrs. Ethel Thorpe, who was to become the first female and longest serving vice principal of the school.

Olayiwola Akiwumi

Olayiwola Akiwumi had a successful secondary school teaching career in England, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Canada. She then received an MSc in Agricultural Chemistry from the University of Ghana and was then invited to lecture teachers preparing for their Dip. Ed in Ghana before traveling to Anguilla. During her 11-year tenure in Anguilla, she received many awards teaching the Sciences and Physical Education – including Teacher of the Year just before her retirement. She was married to veterinary surgeon the late Leonard Pabs-Garnon and together they had two sons and three daughters. At the time of writing, Olayiwola Pabs-Garnon is retired but remains a keen sports enthusiast playing tennis, pickle ball, table tennis, and badminton and has won over 25 medals in numerous senior games in Canada. She spends her time equally in Freetown and Canada.

Moira Cummings had a successful medical career in Sierra Leone, culminating in becoming the Chief Medical Officer. After retirement, she went into private practice and at the same time served as a member of the Public Service Commission. She was married to the late Engineer Alexander Browne and had five daughters. At the time of writing, Dr. Moira Browne is retired and lives in London.

Dr Moira Browne
Olabisi Fraser

Olabisi Fraser had a successful medical career which included working as an anaesthetist at Connaught Hospital in Sierra Leone, Bong Mine Hospital in Liberia and St. John’s Hospital in New Brunswick, Canada. She was married to the late Engineer Silvanus Taylor-Lewis and had two sons and one daughter. After retirement she moved to Vancouver in Canada to be closer to her grandchildren and where she passed away in 2008. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

As we recall our lives’ journeys, we express our appreciation to all staff members and their contributions to all our successes.

by Olayiwola Pabs-Garnon (nee Akiwumi) and Dr. Moira Browne (nee Cummings)