THE BERNARD ONYANGO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE (BO ACE) AWARDS INTRODUCTION
St. Peter’s College Tororo a.k.a. ‘TC’ was founded by the Mill Hill Missionaries in 1932, and soon emerged to become one of the leading secondary schools in pre and post-independent Uganda.
Thousands of eminent Ugandans and foreign nationals have passed through its gates on their way to greatness in numerous fields and disciplines in life.
The most shining example of students who excelled during the school’s glory days was Bernard Onyango, the first student at the school to score hig distinctions in all the subjects of study in the Cambridge School Certificate examinations, the precursor to the current Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) given by UNEB.
Onyango went on to become the first African Academic Registrar at the University of East Africa—which brought together then colleges of Makerere, Nairobi and Dar s Salaam,; and the pioneer and most renowned Academic Registrar at both Makerere University and Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi.
Bernard Onyango—after whom one of the dormitories in TC is named—died on 14th October 2013. His 1948 academic record at TC had stood unmatched until the year of his death; when Isaac Munu scored aggregate 8 in 8 in the 2013 UCE exams.
Following Onyango’s demise, members of St.Peter’s College Tororo Old Boys’ Association (SPECTOBA) met and discussed how to honour his academic legacy and use it to inspire students in TC and other Ugandan institutions to excel academically, while also doing so with honesty and integrity. The outcome of the numerous SPECTOBA discussions was the Bernard Onyango Academic Excellence (the BO ACE) Awards.
OBJECTIVES OF THE BO ACE AWARDS
- • To inspire Ugandan students to excel academically and with honesty, by offering an award named after someone who lived by these values;
- • To demonstrate to students that academic distinction is a value that is highly cherished and rewarded;
- • To restore the historical glory and prominence that TC once enjoyed and restore the School to its rightful place among the giants of Uganda’s secondary education;
- • To attract top performing pupils in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) to join TC, and
- • To retain top UCE performers at TC in the school for their Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) studies.
THE BO ACE AWARDS CATEGORIES
The Awards shall initially be in two categories, namely: BO ACE Awards Class A and BO ACE Awards Class B.
BO ACE Awards Class A
This award shall be given to a student who scores aggregate 8 for 8 in the case of UCE or AAA, plus a Distinction in the General Paper (GP) in the UACE exams.
The Award Benefits
1. UCE winner who remains at their school for UACE shall receive:
- A Citation/Certificate
- A Trophy
- Full scholarship for their UACE studies
- A cash award ofUSD 400 (four hundred and fifty United States Dollars).
2. UCE winner who joins another school for UACE shall receive:
- Citation
- Certificate
- A Trophy
- A cash award ofUSD 200 (Two Hundred United States dollars).
3.UACE winner shall receive:
- Citation
- Certificate
- A Trophy
- Cash USD 600 (Six Hundred United States Dollars).
BO ACE Awards Class B
This award shall be given to a student who gets the best aggregate score in UCE provided their score is within Division One for UCE
OR Highest points in UACE at TC during a given academic year, or a minimum of 15 points (AAA).
The Award Benefits
1.UCE winner who remains at their school for UACE shall receive:
- Citation
- Certificate
- A Trophy
- Full scholarship for UACE
- Cash USD 200 (Two Hundred United States Dollars).
2.UCE winner who joins another school for UACE shall receive:
- Citation
- Certificate
- A Trophy
- USD 200 (Two Hundred United States dollars).
3.UACE winner shall receive
- Citation
- Certificate
- A Trophy
- Cash USD 300 (Three United States Dollars).