Loyola Secondary School, Wau
Brief History of School
LoyolaSecondary School was started in the year 1982 by the aid of the DetroitProvince, following the request of Bishop Joseph Nyekindi. This marked the arrival of the first Jesuits to the school while the first intake of students took place in 1984. A total of 50 students were enrolled during this year. However, war and turmoil in South Sudan meant the school could only run for two years before closing and suspending admissions in 1985. This suspension lasted 22 years. With the signing of the Peace Agreement in January 2005 in Machokos Kenya, the school was able to re-open in September 2006.
Students and Staff
LSS is a mixed day school run by the Jesuit community. There are currently 431 students. Of these the majority are boys with 263 (61%) compared to 168 girls (39%). The proportion of girls has increased by 11% since 2007, and is now higher than the national school attendance rate for girls. In the preparatory class there are more girls but there is a steep fall in their numbers as they progress with their studies. This is due to a high rate of pregnancy and early marriages among the young girls in Wau. With regard to staff, there are 6 Jesuits and 26 lay members. All the Jesuits are fulltime members of staff and the rest work part time. There are 6 non-teaching members of staff who help with the daily running of the school. The current headmaster is Br. Andrew Omondi, SJ. Subjects taught at the school include English, Physics, Science, Arabic, History, Mathematics, Religion, Engineering and Geography and Environmental Agriculture.
School Mission
The school aims to provide spiritual guidance to assist students in their faith formation, human growth, and spiritual wellbeing, laying strong emphasis on Justice and Peace. Students uphold Jesuit ideas in acts of charity, kindness, tolerance, understanding, forgiveness, reconciliation, unity and peace.
School motto: Light to the nations.
Funding
The school is currently supported by various donations including those from the Jesuit Mission Office.
The school has many funding needs:
- Currently, Loyola must turn away 200 students per year because of limited capacity, and therefore the school aims to increase student capacity from 450 to 800 students.
- Loyola Secondary School charges a nominal fee of USD 250 per year, however last year 70% of students were unable to pay fees. The shool is therefore trying to set up a scholarship to finance marginalised students.
- Continuing construction – eg. to improve the library, science facilities.
- Equipment and furniture – science lab equipment, computers and furnishings for various buildings currently under construction.