Wa School For The Deaf

In 1967, Lt. General Alexander Drumon of the Commonwealth Society of the Deaf conducted a survey on deafness in the western part of the then Upper Region. The report touched on the then-Catholic Bishop of Wa, the late Peter Porekuu Dery (later the Cardinal of Tamale Dioceses), who visited a school for the Deaf in the Netherlands. He decided to open Wa School for the Deaf under the Catholic Educational Unit in Wa. The school was opened in November 1968. The catchment area covered then was the Upper Region now (Upper East and West Regions) as well as the Bole and Damongo Districts of the Northern Region (now in the Savanna Region). The school started with 17 pupils, but this number has steadily increased over the years. The school now has an enrolment of 240 pupils made up of 148 boys and 92 girls running from Kindergarten through Primary to Junior High School level. Apart from academic subjects, emphasis is placed on practical skills that could make them self-employable. The programmes for practical skills include block laying and concreting, carpentry, catering, handloom weaving, and sewing

In 1982, the school previously located at the Old Catholic Mission House at Wa Pani moved to its modern accommodation site on the Wa – Kumasi road directly opposite Wa Senior High School. The first headmaster was Mr. Bob Miller who had his training as a teacher for the deaf in the Netherlands.