The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, will deliver the keynote address at the grand durbar marking the climax of British Columbia College’s (BCC) 10th anniversary celebrations on July 4, 2026.

The event, to be held at the school’s Madina Estate campus, caps a decade of academic excellence, global partnerships, and pioneering work in international education in Ghana.

The management of the school paid a courtesy call on him to officially invite him and receive his blessings for the event.

The anniversary was officially launched on Saturday, April 18, with a vibrant float that began at Madina Estate, wound through principal streets, stopped at Accra Mall, and returned to campus.

Held under the theme “A Decade of Excellence: Empowering Minds, Enriching Lives,” the launch signalled the start of a packed three-month calendar of activities running until July 5.

From Global Data to a Ghanaian Classroom Speaking ahead of the celebrations, BCC Founder Dr. Benedict Yartey traced the school’s origins to a deep dive into global education benchmarks.

He cited the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the world’s largest comparative study of 15-year-old students’ readiness for social and economic life.

“I chanced on the 2014 PISA results and noticed Canada, a bilingual English-French country, ranking 7th in Reading, 10th in Science, and 13th in Mathematics.

The United Kingdom placed 23rd, 20th, and 26th in those same areas, yet the UK curriculum was the most popular foreign curriculum in Ghana at the time,” Dr. Yartey explained. That data point shifted his focus.

Through the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, he was introduced to Prof. Felix Nii Lantei Odartey-Wellington and Brett Maclean of Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia.

Initial plans to run the Nova Scotia Provincial Curriculum as Ghana’s first offshore school were halted when permissions for offshore schools were suspended in 2015.

Prof. Odartey-Wellington then identified an alternative: the British Columbia Provincial Curriculum, which was still open to offshore partnerships.

After further consultations, regulatory reviews, and study visits, British Columbia College was incorporated in August 2016 under Ghana’s Companies Act to deliver the BC curriculum from preschool through high school.

A Decade of Growth and Global Placements. BCC opened its doors for the 2016/2017 academic year with just 21 students.

Ten years on, the school has grown into a recognised hub for international curricula in Accra.

Its graduates, Dr Yartey said, are the clearest measure of impact. “Our groundbreaking achievement is a decade of academic excellence.

We pride ourselves on graduates who have secured admission to top universities across the globe, many with scholarships,” he noted.

Students have consistently excelled in Cambridge IGCSE and A-Levels as well as the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) from Canada.

BCC remains the only institution in Ghana running the OSSD program. Its international network includes affiliations with Ridley College, Rosedale Global High School, and Bronston Canadian Academy, all in Ontario, Canada.

These partnerships support curriculum delivery, teacher training, and university pathways for students: challenges, Parental Partnership, and the Next Decade.

Growth has not come without hurdles. Asked about operational challenges, Dr Yartey was direct: “Funding.” Sustaining an international curriculum, maintaining global standards, and supporting scholarship pathways require significant and consistent investment.

On social media and child development, he called for deliberate action from families.

“Parents should ensure optimal guidance and strict monitoring of the activities and sites their children visit. We must also strengthen the school-home partnership to ensure consistency in behaviour and child development,” he advised.

Looking forward, BCC’s vision for the next 10 years centres on consolidation and skills diversification. “We seek to stabilise our gains and add TVET programmes to equip students with entrepreneurial skills and broader opportunities for national development,” Dr Yartey said.

Three Months of Anniversary Activities. The anniversary program blends academics, service, and community engagement:

April 24: Donation exercise at the University of Ghana Hospital for children living with HIV

May 8: Financial literacy talk for students and parents

May 16: Family Day and Bazaar on campus, Date TBC: Football match between BCC and Al-Ryan School

June 12: Educational tour of Jubilee House and Parliament House

June 27: Medical screening and community clean-up exercise

July 4: Grand durbar, Graduation, and Achievers’ Day, with the Ga Mantse delivering the keynote address

July 5: Thanksgiving service at Redeemed Baptist Church to close the celebrations