Usman Nyallay, Grade 11
UWCEA Arusha Campus
For most kids in this part of the world where I’m from school starts at the age three because normally we can now at least talk and listen so we are being enrolled in preschool which normally lasts for about three years for the average kid but for intelligent ones they are likely to spend at most two years before starting primary school.
In my case I spent all the three years since I was not an intelligent person back then in preschool. But ah! Is preschool really important because all I can remember of that experience is the fact that it was filled with lots of joy and happiness with less learning and education but for me what I really loved about preschool is the knowledge that I used to take a bowl full of food which I would devour before lunchtime and here was Mrs Dania the proprietors wife who always had the problem of giving me food.
Hey ! Did I mention my pre and primary school? No I didn’t right pardon my manners please. Oita all startedat the faith arena International school, a school which was owned by a Nigerian named Pastor Emmanuel Ola Dania whom passed away few years ago. Starting school in grade1 (class or prep 1 in West Africa) I was still a doll head but after the first two terms a girl named komsatu kamara was topping the class and this got to me and as a result it rose the ambitious side of me and since the third term of grade 1 was the top of the class since we sat the NPSE (National primary school examination) in which I was also the top student in my school with an aggregate of 317 which saw me proceed to my school of choice the revered Prince of Wales school kingtom and I earned a lot of respect from this school to the point that even though I wasn’t named the head boy but funny enough some people even till now call me by that title.
After admission into the Prince of Wales school at age 13, starting High school (junior High school) you know there comes the feeling of maturity and self reliance but someone who really still treated me as that kid in primary school and as always this was something I actually found degrading by then but now is the time that I miss that Care which is being shown now to my youngest sibling. A clear picture of my first dabbing Prince of Wales is still in my head till today. It was in the early days of September when school had reopened and with all the excitement of going to a new school I rose from bed even earlier than usual and just after prayers in the morning (fair for Muslims) I had uniform on was just anxiously waiting for my Dad to take me to school as I didn’t know the way there as it was my first time there. Going to school that day with all the excitement ended up going back home sad because the day was not as I had anticipated it to be.
In academics at Prince of Wales I was never able to make it to the very top as there were tons of brilliant minds but nevertheless I was able to make it to the best students in school at the time and at the end of my term we sat to the BECE (Basic Education Certificate Examination) in which I had a total score of 10 putting in second place in my school. I proceeded to the senior school where I had three amazing and unique years which saw me being prepared well for life ahead. Here I made friends who impacted my life positively and also strengthened friendships from junior school and was well prepared by the teachers for university also. As a very important line from our school song reads:
For searching Sierra Leone far and wide
No school can well be found that sends forth truer gentle men that stand on firmer ground.
This six years at the Palace taught me determination, hard work, perseverance, resilience, responsibility, a sense of idealism, discipline and respect which has immensely built me today.
Like most princewaleans would say this school is the Palace of wisdom and we are people of wonders.
Even though I have been told how the course at UWC ( the I B diploma) is trying I believe oi have been in something more challenging as I attended one of the worst but best school when it comes to a challenging level of academia. I also know that I will be able to employ the virtues I had inherited at my alma mater at the UWC in order to go through and pass the requirements there (UWC).
“A candle does not lose light by lighting others” and so I am passionate about UWC for me to make a change in the world.
In my case I spent all the three years since I was not an intelligent person back then in preschool. But ah! Is preschool really important because all I can remember of that experience is the fact that it was filled with lots of joy and happiness with less learning and education but for me what I really loved about preschool is the knowledge that I used to take a bowl full of food which I would devour before lunchtime and here was Mrs Dania the proprietors wife who always had the problem of giving me food.
Hey ! Did I mention my pre and primary school? No I didn’t right pardon my manners please. Oita all startedat the faith arena International school, a school which was owned by a Nigerian named Pastor Emmanuel Ola Dania whom passed away few years ago. Starting school in grade1 (class or prep 1 in West Africa) I was still a doll head but after the first two terms a girl named komsatu kamara was topping the class and this got to me and as a result it rose the ambitious side of me and since the third term of grade 1 was the top of the class since we sat the NPSE (National primary school examination) in which I was also the top student in my school with an aggregate of 317 which saw me proceed to my school of choice the revered Prince of Wales school kingtom and I earned a lot of respect from this school to the point that even though I wasn’t named the head boy but funny enough some people even till now call me by that title.
After admission into the Prince of Wales school at age 13, starting High school (junior High school) you know there comes the feeling of maturity and self reliance but someone who really still treated me as that kid in primary school and as always this was something I actually found degrading by then but now is the time that I miss that Care which is being shown now to my youngest sibling. A clear picture of my first dabbing Prince of Wales is still in my head till today. It was in the early days of September when school had reopened and with all the excitement of going to a new school I rose from bed even earlier than usual and just after prayers in the morning (fair for Muslims) I had uniform on was just anxiously waiting for my Dad to take me to school as I didn’t know the way there as it was my first time there. Going to school that day with all the excitement ended up going back home sad because the day was not as I had anticipated it to be.
In academics at Prince of Wales I was never able to make it to the very top as there were tons of brilliant minds but nevertheless I was able to make it to the best students in school at the time and at the end of my term we sat to the BECE (Basic Education Certificate Examination) in which I had a total score of 10 putting in second place in my school. I proceeded to the senior school where I had three amazing and unique years which saw me being prepared well for life ahead. Here I made friends who impacted my life positively and also strengthened friendships from junior school and was well prepared by the teachers for university also. As a very important line from our school song reads:
For searching Sierra Leone far and wide
No school can well be found that sends forth truer gentle men that stand on firmer ground.
This six years at the Palace taught me determination, hard work, perseverance, resilience, responsibility, a sense of idealism, discipline and respect which has immensely built me today.
Like most princewaleans would say this school is the Palace of wisdom and we are people of wonders.
Even though I have been told how the course at UWC ( the I B diploma) is trying I believe oi have been in something more challenging as I attended one of the worst but best school when it comes to a challenging level of academia. I also know that I will be able to employ the virtues I had inherited at my alma mater at the UWC in order to go through and pass the requirements there (UWC).
“A candle does not lose light by lighting others” and so I am passionate about UWC for me to make a change in the world.
www.unitedworldwide.co