Name Dropping

Many schools love to boast about their famous alumni - those who really stand out in life beyond school. In this area, WTA seems to be leading the field already… The new academic year requires new class registers, where some names are a particular source of interest. 

Among the recent notable alumni, Wobulenzi Town Academy should be proud of educating a certain Obama Barak*, while another presidential namesake, Obote,  left last year. One new student in S4 recently introduced himself as Blair Tonny * - not convinced this was a genuine name, I went to check the class list and there he is.. Other students on the presidential list are Kennedy, Mandera/Mandela and another Nelson. Then there is the S3 papal sounding, John Paul - who has appeared quite often in other classes over the years. Elsewhere, there are the brothers Rooney & Beckham. WTA has taught them all.

Among the staff on site there are several famous explorers, Livingstone, Stanley & also Samuel Baker. 

Mackay  made an appearance a few years ago, famous as 'founder of education' in Uganda (not bad for a student). Another personal favourite is the English teacher responsible for teaching  A’ level texts, Teacher Dickens. 

In all seriousness, WTA does try keep in touch with its former students when possible. Although they may not be world famous (yet), many have already moved on to positions of responsibility in local leadership, into business and media work, onto further study and to steady employment. Many decide to be job creators themselves. Each year, over 200 young people either leave WTA or pursue further education in some form. Most importantly of all, the vast majority are moving forward in life.

Thanks to some great ideas shared with Charles by our lovely visitors from last term, (Team Blunt-Bunker), there are already plans to formalise and strengthen the current, informal alumni network, which already stretches all over Uganda and internationally. So, who knows, another future article on 'Namedropping' might make headline news! 

* alternative spellings according to the students/parents