A short history about the school

The property where the school stands today was bought by Mr Constance Cummings-John from Ernest Dustan Morgan and for and on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Rev John Brelan Falconer of the Foreign Mission Board, of the National Baptist Convention, Philadelphia, USA, in 1950.

The school was founded and opened on the 23rd of January 1952 by Mrs C. Cummings-John and was named Roosevelt, after Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the then-president of the United States of America, who was her close friend. However, the mission renamed it Vine Memorial Secondary School for girls.

The school was a one-flat housing primary school until it was  upgraded to a secondary school, phasing out the primary school. Miss Elvira Porter joined the school as a teacher when she graduated from Fourah Bay College in 1969. She was employed by Mrs ElsiemaeKallon as an assistant teacher. Miss E. Porter worked with Mrs E Kallon for five years before she resigned. Mrs Elsiemae Kallon resigned in 1973. Miss Elvira Porter was then promoted to act as the principal of the school in 1974.

The school was only government-assisted, so Miss Elvira Porter decided to ask the mission for help in both the educational and developmental sectors. As a government-assisted school, classes are from form one through to form five when the pupils take the GCE O’ Level examination.

The Ministry of Education later notified schools to run a two-shift system comprising junior secondary school (JSS) form 1-3 and senior Secondary School (SSS) form 4-5. At the end of JSS, pupils will take the BECE (Basic Certificate Examination to gain entry into  senior secondary school/vocational. Pupils in SSS take the WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate examination) to qualify students admission to colleges.

With the help of the proprietors, classrooms were added on the first floor of the existing building. The compound was completely fenced at this time. The hall, which housed the principal’s office, the vice principal’s office, the staff room, secretary’s office, was dedicated on the 14th of March 1991 by Rev. William J Harvey the third, executive Secretary, foreign mission Board, National Baptist Convention, Philadelphia, USA.

The name of the school was changed in September 1991 from Roosevelt Secondary School for Girls to its present name, Vine Memorial Secondary School for Girls.

In the 1995/1996 academic school year, through many recommendations to the mission, Rev. Henry Christopher Samuels was appointed chaplain of the mission and school.

Mrs Elvira Porter retired as principal in 2002.